Gazette Daily News Briefing, April 30 and May 1
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1.
Heavy rain will be most likely early Saturday morning before mostly clearing off, with a small chance for more rain the rest of the weekend. According to the National Weather Service showers and thunderstorms should mostly clear out of the Cedar Rapids area by 8 a.m. Saturday. After that it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 67 degrees. It will be quite breezy, with wind gusts as high as 30 mph. On Sunday the slight chance for rain will remain, with the high temperature dropping to 53 degrees with cloudy skies.
Early indications are that it will be similarly soggy for the coming week as well.
Linn County Board of Supervisors Chair Ben Rogers called Friday for the board to increase again to five members after voters – upset at six-figure salaries – whittled it down to three members in 2016.
Rogers made his remarks during the annual State Of Linn County address, held in-person for the first time since 2019 because of the pandemic at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center.
In Linn County, the number of elected members on the Board of Supervisors has changed twice in the last two decades. It increased from three to five members in 2006, and decreased back down to three in 2016.
Rogers, who has addressed the issue before, cited the increasing workload and the complexity of issues as well as the ability to talk one-on-one with colleagues as reasons to increase the number of supervisors. He also said that having 3 supervisors leads to worse representation, particularly for rural parts of the county.
Although the 2020 derecho’s hurricane-force winds toppled thousands of trees around Cedar Rapids, the city of Cedar Rapids was named a Tree City USA for the 44th year.
The award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation and Iowa Department of Natural Resources to communities that show a dedication to the importance of trees. Cedar Rapids has received this award for more consecutive years than any other city in Iowa.
Cedar Rapids in February adopted the ReLeaf plan to reforest the tree canopy lost in the derecho over a 10-year period. The plan is part of a public-private partnership with Marion-based nonprofit Trees Forever.
The plan provides a comprehensive urban reforestation model. Officials believe Cedar Rapids’ tree loss is perhaps the biggest urban forestry disaster in U.S. history, and in crafting this plan aimed to provide the premier reforestation model for communities grappling with devastating tree loss.
According to the Associated Press, a man charged with shooting and killing an Iowa State Patrol trooper last year in Grundy Center plans to plead self-defense.
Michael Lang, 42, is scheduled to stand trial May 9 in the April 9, 2021, shooting death of patrol Sgt. Jim Smith. Lang is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and assaulting a police officer.
Smith, a 27-year patrol veteran, was shot as he led a team of officers into Lang's home in Grundy Center. Police say Lang had barricaded himself inside the home after assaulting another officer after a traffic pursuit earlier in the day.
