Gazette Daily News Briefing, February 23
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, February 23.
Thursday's weather will calm down a bit. According to the National Weather Service there will be a 20 percent chance of rain before 7 a.m. and some patchy fog around then-- so watch out for that, early commuters. Otherwise it will be mostly cloudy, with temperatures falling to around 26 degrees by 5 p.m. It will be breezy with winds bumping up to 20 to 25 mph by the afternoon. On Thursday night it will be cold, with a low of around 9 and a wind chill at -5 degrees.
A Marion man has been convicted for a second time in the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, whose body was concealed for about three days in a roll of carpet in 2017.
Greg Davis, 30, was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in 2018, but the Iowa Supreme Court overturned it in 2020, ruling a judge erred in leaving his insanity defense out of jury instructions.
Davis was given a new trial but waived his right to a jury trial this time, and instead asked instead for a bench, or non-jury, trial. It was held in September. Last Friday, 6th Judicial District Judge Sean McPartland found Davis guilty of a lesser charge — second-degree murder.
In his ruling, McPartland said Davis on Sept. 28, 2017, fatally stabbed girlfriend Carrie Davis, 29, of Marion, under diminished responsibility that didn’t allow him to form specific intent necessary for a conviction of first-degree murder.
An influx of federal funding awarded this week will aid in Linn County’s recovery from the 2020 derecho, fueling a massive investment in the construction of 290 new housing units after much of the area’s housing stock was damaged by the storm’s ferocious winds.
The city of Cedar Rapids received more than $24 million through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds — the vast majority of approximately $38 million awarded to Linn County, which bore the brunt of the derecho’s devastation.
Overall, the award supports 94 multifamily units and 76 for-sale single-family units within Cedar Rapids. In other parts of Linn County, the funds will support 92 rental units and 28 single-family units.
Cedar Rapids Community Development Director Jennifer Pratt said the funds will help provide opportunities for infill development and create housing throughout the community.
A mixed-use development with Scooter’s Coffee, commercial space and residential units is coming to the northeast side of Iowa City.
The Iowa City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the first consideration of rezoning 3.87 acres of vacant land on the corner of North Dodge Street and Scott Boulevard, across from Iowa City Fire Station 4. The rezoning still needs to be approved two more times.
Mark Holtkamp of Solon is working with Axiom Consultants on the project. The land is owned by GreenState Credit Union.
The proposed Scooter’s Coffee would be located on the corner of North Dodge Street and Scott Boulevard.
The mixed-use building will be separate from the coffee shop and is expected to have ground floor retail with upper story residential consisting of eight one-bedroom units. A restaurant is also proposed for this building.
