Gazette Daily News Briefing, February 4 and February 5
Welcome to the weekend!
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday, February 4, and Sunday, February 5.
The warmer weather will arrive this weekend. According to the National Weather Service it will be increasingly cloudy during the day on Saturday with a high near 40 degrees. On Saturday night it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of around 25 degrees. Sunday it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 38 degrees.The high temperatures will remain above 40 degrees everyday next week until next Friday, when it will again drop back in the thirties.
Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks released a video Friday saying he expects to decide by the end of the month about filing charges in the fatal stabbing of Devonna Walker.
“The homicide of Devonna Walker is a very important case. As of next week, I must also attend to another very important case that will be going to trial in Linn County and will take up to two weeks. The homicide of Devonna Walker will continue to receive attention and be reviewed during this time period,” Maybanks said in the video.
Maybanks said he had also asked two of his top felony prosecutors to review the case as well.
Walker was stabbed Jan. 2 in the 2100 block of North Towne Court NE. Police were called about 6:45 p.m., and Walker was taken to a hospital where she died. Two people were detained and interviewed by Cedar Rapids police, but released. No one has been arrested in connection with her death.
A video of the stabbing, which has been circulating on social media, appears to show Walker, a Black woman, arguing with a white man and woman and engaging in a fight with them before she is stabbed by the man. The man is heard yelling a racial slur at Walker before the physical fight began.
Activists have been protesting regularly at the Cedar Rapids Police Department, asking for an arrest to be made. A town hall event was hosted Sunday by various activist groups, in which community members discussed the case and what it means for the Black community in Cedar Rapids. Another protest is planned for Saturday.
A mountain lion was killed in Johnson County last weekend, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on Friday.
The animal — an adult female weighing 116 pounds — was shot by two licensed hunters who were out at night calling for coyotes west of Swisher.
The Iowa DNR had been aware of the mountain lion’s whereabouts since last spring, thanks to trail camera photos submitted by residents and hunters in the area.
“During that time, she was seldom, if ever, seen by humans and didn't ever cause safety or livestock problems,” said department furbearer and wetland biologist Vince Evelsizer in an email to the Gazette.
The department’s Clear Lake office now receives an average of two to four reports of mountain lion sightings a week. Statewide, more than 2,000 sightings have been reported since 2010. Johnson County had a confirmed sighting in April 2022 and a highly probable sighting in Oct. 2011. There have been no sightings in Linn County.
There will be another huge lottery drawing this weekend.
This time, it's an estimated $700 million Powerball jackpot drawing, which ranks at the 10th largest in U.S. lottery history. It comes on the heels of a $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize won by someone in Maine less than three weeks ago and a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a California player last November.
Have a good weekend everyone.
