Gazette Daily News Briefing, February 19 and February 20
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday, February 19th and Sunday, February 20th.
This weekend will feature both weather from this month and weather from a month from now.
According to the National Weather Service, on Saturday it will be sunny with a high near 27 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Wind chill values will be as low as -10 degrees, with a wind of 5 to 15 mph gusting as high as 25 mph. On Saturday night it will drop just a few degrees, down to a low of 22, but it will get a little windier.
On Sunday it will be sunny again, but a full 30 degrees warmer, clocking in with a high near 52 degrees. It will be breezy again, with wind gusts as high as 30 mph. On Sunday it will be mostly clear, with a low around 31.
Four people, including the former mayor of Iowa City, were rescued after being trapped when a grain bin filled with corn ruptured outside of Mount Vernon Friday morning.
Two men were setting up to unload the bin when a door opened and corn spilled out, burying both men. Two other men who saw the spill stopped to help and also got trapped in the corn, according to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency responders were called to the scene at 1504 N. Highway 1 at 9:32 a.m. on Friday. The two who tried to help — Shaun Lambertsen, 49, of Martelle, and Matt Hayek, 51, of Iowa City — were rescued first. The first two men who were trapped — Jared Youngblut, 37, of Lisbon, and Allen Mallie, 62, of Mount Vernon — were rescued soon after.
Mallie, Lambertsen and Hayek were assessed by medical personnel at the scene and released. Youngblut was transported to a hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening, officials said.
Tis the season of candidates announcing they are running for things, and a pair of local Democrats announced their intentions Friday.
Former Linn County Supervisor and current county employee Brent Oleson is running for public office again, this time for Linn County treasurer.
His announcement comes after current treasurer, Sharon Gonzalez, said she is retiring when her term ends this year.
Oleson, 51, was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2008 and re-elected in 2012 and 2016. He currently works as the county’s deputy director of public policy and community relations.
Oleson, a former Republican-turned-Democrat, announced in August 2020 he would not seek re-election as a supervisor. He said he’d initially planned to serve only two terms when elected in 2008, but opted to run for a third term to continue advancing county conservation projects and programs.
Meanwhile, a current state legislator in Linn County is looking to transition into county government next year.
Kirsten Running-Marquardt, the Democratic state representative for District 69, announced on Friday that she would be running for the District 1 seat on the Linn County Board of Supervisors.
Born and raised in southwest Cedar Rapids, Running-Marquardt, 44, said she is looking to move on from 13 years in state government to county government to work more closely on local issues. Her current state district aligns with the future County District 1 that includes west Cedar Rapids, Fairfax, Walford and adds Ely.
Running-Marquardt is the second person to formally announce she’s running for the District 1 seat, currently held by Stacey Walker, who announced last year he wouldn’t be running for re-election.
Breanna Oxley, a fellow Democrat and teacher at Roosevelt Middle School, is also running for the seat. Oxley, 30, announced her campaign back in October. Oxley is also the granddaughter of the county administration building’s namesake: Jean Oxley, the first woman to serve on the board and the longest-serving member.
Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.
