Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 6
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, December 6.
There could be a little bit of snowfall on Tuesday morning, but blink and you'll likely miss it. According to the National Weather Service there is a slight chance of snow between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Cedar Rapids area. Besides that it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 41 degrees. On Tuesday night it will be partly cloudy, with a low of around 25 degrees.
Iowans who have yet to receive a gold star license to become compliant under federal law to fly domestically will have two more years to do so.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday it is delaying full enforcement of the REAL ID Act, extending the deadline from May 3, 2023 to May 7, 2025. The announcement marks the department’s third pandemic-related extension.
That means states now will have additional time to ensure residents have driver’s licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established by the federal law.
To meet the federal requirements, individuals will have to bring documents that prove their identity and date of birth (such as a certified copy of a birth certificate or valid passport), Social Security number, legal status or authorized presence in the United States, residential address and proof of name change (most commonly a certified marriage certificate).
Iowans can create a customized list of documents they will need to bring with them at the Iowa DOT website.
Maybe by the time Iowans want to fly with their REAL IDs, there will be some more pilots to fly their planes.
A day after bowl game executives revealed that the University of Iowa was being invited to this year’s Transperfect Music City Bowl in Nashville, the Hawkeye faithful were buying up travel packages that — for the first time in decades — don’t include a chartered flight option.
“We were not able to secure a chartered plane this year due to crew and staff shortages over the holidays,” Duane Jasper, owner and chief executive officer of Travel Leaders/Destinations Unlimited, told The Gazette.
“I cannot think of time when a charter wasn’t offered,” he said. “Unfortunately, the airline industry is facing staffing and crew shortages, and a charter was not available this year.”
This year’s faceoff against Kentucky amounts to a rematch after the Hawkeyes lost to Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl last year, when Destinations Unlimited coordinated Hawkeye bowl travel for about 400 people in the first week of ticket sales.
For that game, the agency sold out its only 240-seat charter flight within 24 hours.
A Mount Vernon man was arrested this weekend on charges that he locked a woman in her own home at knife point and attempted to sexually assault her.
Gabriel Conner Goslin, 19, is charged in Linn County court with first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping, both felonies. He’s also charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor.
According to a criminal complaint, Goslin approached the woman outside her residence in Mount Vernon on Nov. 9. He knew the woman, but only as a past acquaintance.
He brandished a knife and took the woman’s house keys, then forced her inside the home and confined her there. He attempted to sexually assault her, but she was able to fight him off, the complaint states.
A warrant for Goslin’s arrest was issued on Nov. 21, and he was arrested Friday. An order of protection was filed on behalf of the victim.
