Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 28
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for December 28, 2023.
We may have a chance for snow again on Thursday. But, for real this time.
According to the National Weather Service there will be an 80 percent chance of precipitation on Thursday in the Cedar Rapids area. Snow that falls will likely be before 5 p.m. and could total as much as a .5 inch of accumulation.
The high temperature is predicted to be 36 degrees. Rain and snow mix is also possible, especially Thursday evening.
More people have died on Iowa roadways this year than in each of the past five years.
There have been 372 traffic deaths so far in the state, up 10 percent from last year. About 70 percent of 2023’s traffic deaths happened in rural areas, in at least 46 percent of fatalities drivers were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident, and roughly a third of the deaths came over three summer months.
Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla told the Gazette on Wednesday that excessive speed, distracted driving, impaired driving, and not wearing seat belts are some of the most common behaviors that police have linked to traffic deaths.
When Dinkla talks about these behaviors he uses the words “choose” and “decide.”
“People are choosing to drive these speeds,” he said, referring to speeds of up to 150 mph. “People are choosing to drive impaired with illicit and prescription drugs.”l
Dinkla cautioned that while New Year’s Eve isn’t the deadliest day of the year for car crashes, it’s still a time when more people drive impaired with alcohol or drugs.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, Michigan’s Supreme Court is keeping former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary election ballot.
The court said Wednesday it will decline hearing an appeal of a lower court’s ruling from groups seeking to keep Trump from appearing on the ballot.
The ruling followed a Dec. 19 decision by the Colorado Supreme Court which found Trump ineligible to be president because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. That ruling was the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
