Gazette Daily News Briefing, February 20
This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, February 20th.
According to the National Weather Service, we’ll have patchy fog before 9 a.m. in the Cedar Rapids area today. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 44. Winds from the southeast 5 to 15 mph coming from the west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Then tonight, partly cloudy, with a low around 20 and breezy.
More Cedar Rapids Community School District students have been arrested at school in the first half of this academic year than in the same period last year — even though there are fewer police officers stationed at schools — but school and police officials are optimistic about the impact of changes made last summer to reduce racial disparities and increase chances for diversion from arrest. The changes to the school resource officer contract decreased the number of police officers stationed in the Cedar Rapids district’s schools from seven to five. The two positions that were removed had been floaters, responding wherever they were needed in the district, during the 2021-22 academic year. Before that, the positions were based at McKinley and Roosevelt middle schools. The five officers now are stationed at Kennedy, Washington, Jefferson and Metro high schools and Polk Alternative school. Whether officers were needed in middle schools was a heated topic of discussion while reviewing the contract last year. The Cedar Rapids City Council supported a revision that would have permanently stationed two officers in McKinley and Wilson middle schools, where police had responded to a higher number of incidents in the previous year. But the revision was rejected by the school board.
A boy was killed Saturday morning in a northwest Cedar Rapids shooting. Cedar Rapids police released few details of the shooting, including the boy’s age or the circumstances leading to the gunfire, and did not announce that any arrests had been made in the case. A public safety spokesman said it appeared to be a targeted incident. Several people called 911 shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saturday about shots being fired in the 1600 block of F Avenue NW, police said. The “juvenile male” died at the scene and there were no other injuries reported in the incident.
Iowa City High standout Ben Kueter took a bow Saturday as an undefeated, 4-time Iowa high school wrestling state champion. Kueter became the 32nd Iowa high school wrestler to accomplish the hallowed feat, winning the 220-pound title at the Class 3A boys’ state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
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🎹 Podcast music: “Dubstep” by Emily McGlothlen
