Gazette Daily News Briefing, August 16
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for August 16, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny Wednesday in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 86 degrees. Wednesday evening it will be partly cloudy, with a low of around 67 degrees. It will be a bit breezy throughout the day, increasing as the day goes on.
Fire and law enforcement crews found a body near a house that exploded Monday morning in rural Buckingham, according to the Tama County Sheriff’s Office.
First responders were called to the house, at 1117 W Ave. rural Buckingham, at 10:14 a.m. Monday for reports of a possible explosion.
Law enforcement and fire officials determined the house had been destroyed by an apparent explosion. One resident told the Waterloo Courier that the explosion could be heard 6 or 7 miles away.
The body, which was discovered near the home, was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for examination and identification, according to a sheriff’s news release.
Officials have not released additional information about the identity of the deceased or the cause of the explosion.
In court filings Monday, major Mercy Iowa City investor Preston Hollow Community Capital — along with the master trustee of its debt — said the hospital “threw in the towel” and filed for bankruptcy protection without consulting them. They contend in their filing that should a “below-market” offer from the University of Iowa go through, Mercy will cease to be an independent “full-service acute care hospital.”
“Upon information and belief, the University of Iowa intends to reduce Mercy’s existing acute care service lines and convert Mercy into largely a behavioral health hospital,” the filing alleged.
As a result bondholders have asked a judge to appoint an examiner to investigate the hospital’s downfall and answer questions about the nature of the deal with the University of Iowa and Mercy’s management of its finances.
In last week’s announcement of the proposed sale — which is not a done deal— Mercy and the university said the purchase would afford a “more sustainable future” for the hospital. The UI, according to Mercy’s court filings, plans to establish a Mercy advisory board, allow Mercy to have its own chief administrative officer responsible for operations and make certain strategic upgrades.
Mercy doctors in good standing will keep their jobs, according to the proposal, and other employees will be allowed to reapply to the university.
Iowa voters will likely see a rematch for a southeastern Iowa congressional seat in 2024.
Iowa City Democrat and former state lawmaker Christina Bohannan announced her second bid for Congress, setting up a rematch against Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Iowa’s 20-county 1st Congressional District includes the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington and Indianola.
Bohannan lost by nearly 7 percentage points, or more than 20,000 votes, to Miller-Meeks, who won re-election to a second term in November after winning her first election by the slimmest of margins — six votes over Democrat Rita Hart in 2020 after months of recounts.
