Gazette Daily News Briefing, August 14
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for August 14, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service there will likely be showers and thunderstorms before 7 a.m. in the Cedar Rapids area. There will be a chance for rain after that, but it will grow progressively less likely as the day goes on. It will also feel quite cool for what we’ve recently been used to, with a high of 72 degrees.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are investigating a shots-fired incident reported north of Center Point on Friday evening.
At roughly 4:20 p.m. on Friday a group of children were playing near the intersection of North Center Point and Fee roads, according to a media release.
A silver four-door pickup truck was driving nearby, occupied by at least two males, according to the release. A white male in the truck fired a shot from the vehicle in “the vicinity of the children playing” and then sped off.
No one was injured in the incident. An investigation is ongoing.
The FBI is asking for anyone who may have information about this incident, or video of this area during this time frame, to call the FBI at (402) 493-8688.
The city of Cedar Rapids is trying again to seek a massive grant — $56.4 million — from the federal government to reconstruct the Eighth Avenue “Arc of Justice” Bridge over the Cedar River.
A key segment of the city’s permanent flood control system, the estimated $76 million bridge project would provide a lifeline connection for residents and emergency services when Cedar River waters rise to extreme levels like during the 2008 flood.
The Cedar Rapids City Council last week signed off on the application for a Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Costsaving Transportation Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The PROTECT discretionary grant program is a new program created through the federal bipartisan infrastructure law.
“The newly constructed bridge will be raised in elevation to allow a critical transportation corridor in the event of another major Cedar River flood condition,” Public Works Director Bob Hammond said in a statement. “With this project completed, it would be one of three north/south transportation routes to mitigate flooding impacts: those three being (Interstate) 380, Arc of Justice Bridge and State Route 100 bridge.”
Hammond said the city's executive leadership team recognized the project’s importance for diversity, equity and inclusion and chose the “Arc of Justice” as a fitting name. City officials have said the new bridge will limit the need to evacuate areas behind the completed flood control system, improve trail access and expand connectivity across the river.
