Gazette Daily News Briefing, April 29 and April 30
Welcome to the weekend!
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for the last weekend in April.
There will be a moderate chance for rain all weekend and some colder temperatures. Thankfully there is no snow or frost in the forecast for the coming week.
According to the National Weather Service it will be partly sunny Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area with a high of 60 degrees. There will be a 30 percent chance of rain throughout the day, as well as all of Sunday.
Sunday will be even colder, with a high of 51 degrees and cloudy skies.
The Iowa Supreme Court has granted further review of an appeals decision that overturned a Marion man’s second-degree murder conviction for killing Chris Bagley in 2018.
The Linn County Attorney’s Office asked the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to file the application after the Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the jury’s verdict for Johnny Blahnik Church, 35, who had been sentenced to 57 years for fatally stabbing Bagley, 31, of Walker, on Dec. 14, 2018.
The Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the conviction Feb. 8, and Blahnik Church was given a new trial.
Stewart Bagley, Chris’ father, said he received notice of the oral arguments and was told they will likely be in September.
If the court upholds the appeals decision, First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter said in February that the case will be retried a second time.
Blahnik Church remains in jail pending this decision because he is also serving time on federal drug charges and Linn County charges for beating up a witness while in jail.
With structural beams up and construction underway on the exterior of a new University of Iowa hospital in North Liberty, city councilors this week approved a plan for a nearby Steindler medical park, clearing the way for its construction and continuing the interchange’s transformation from open space into full fledged medical hub.
Steindler — which until the upcoming change has been based in Iowa City, where it partners with Mercy Iowa City — also is eyeing growth into the Cedar Rapids corridor, looking both for clinic space and partnerships with Cedar Rapids hospitals.
As for its new ambulatory surgery center and orthopedic clinic in North Liberty, the plan is slightly smaller than what project officials proposed when seeking state approval in 2021. The plan was adjusted due to costs ballooning because of inflation.
In addition to their North Liberty expansions, both UIHC and Steindler are looking to grow their respective footprints — as Mercy Hospital in Iowa City struggles financially and administratively, recently airing plans to exit its MercyOne partnership and receiving a credit rating downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service.
Steindler has long partnered with Mercy Iowa City for a range of orthopedic services — from total joint replacements to broken bones and sports medicine. But given the uncertainty of Mercy Iowa City, it now is considering performing surgery at hospitals in Cedar Rapids too — including UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, and other inpatient hospitals regionally.
Have a good weekend everyone.
