Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 19
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for December 19, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service the sunny sky will have to contend with increasing cloudiness during the day on Tuesday. The high temperature in the Cedar Rapids area is predicted to be 38 degrees. It should be less windy than Monday, however, with gusts only reaching up to 25 mph.
Seventeen days after a crash killed four people -- two teens and a mother and son -- police announced Monday who was driving each of the two vehicles that collided, but said the cause of the crash is yet undetermined.
In an earlier interview, Cedar Rapids public safety spokesperson Mike Battien said speed was believed to be a factor in the crash.
The fatal crash happened about 10 p.m. Dec. 1 on C Street SW between Thomas Edison Boulevard and Beth Page Drive. Police later released the names of the people who died: Casey Krager, 18, of Davenport, Carter Cooper, 18, of Bettendorf, Ruta Tekeste, 52, of Cedar Rapids and a 13-year-old who was not identified. The teen was identified on an online fundraising page as Tekeste’s son, Bruk Mehari.
Monday, police revealed the crash involved a 2006 Chevrolet Impala driven by Cooper and a 2010 Honda Pilot driven by Tekeste.
A GoFundMe page started on behalf of Tekeste and Mehari’s family has been closed after raising almost $60,000.
Christmas light displays in downtown Cedar Rapids, darkened when their power cords were stolen, will be turned back on now that an arrest has been made in the thefts, according to Nikki Wilcox, director of strategic development for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.
Several power cords connected to holiday lights in Greene Square, in a MedQuarter pocket park along First Street SE and outside NewBo City Market were stolen during the first couple weeks of December. The cords in Greene Square and the MedQuarter were replaced once, but were stolen again.
Last Wednesday, Cedar Rapids police arrested Scott Alan Clark, 48, of Cedar Rapids in relation to the thefts.
City officials had been waiting for an arrest before paying to replace the cords for the downtown and MedQuarter displays in hopes they wouldn't be stolen a third time. Now that the arrest has been made, the lights will be turned back on.
A contractor was working Monday to replace the cords, with the plan to turn the lights back on again starting Monday night, according to Wilcox.
Michaels, the North American arts and crafts chain, will soon open a location at the Westdale Town Centre as redevelopment of a former southwest Cedar Rapids mall property nears its culmination.
Frew Development Group — which is undertaking the $90 million redevelopment of Westdale Mall into an open-air, mixed-use development with housing, retail, hotels and other uses — announced Monday that Michaels has signed a long-term lease for 16,000 square feet of space. Opening is targeted for mid-2024.
Michaels — North America’s largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor based in Irving, Texas — has another location in the Cedar Rapids metro in Collins Road Square in Marion. The Collins Road Square store opened in 1993, and closed for several months after sustaining significant damage in the 2020 derecho. The company also operates a store at 2515 Corridor Way in Coralville.
