Gazette Daily News Briefing, January 2
This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024.
According to the National Weather Service, today’s weather will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Tonight will remain mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Shootout with Cedar Rapids police leaves suspect dead
Cedar Rapids police officers responding to reports of a drive-by shooting Monday morning were fired on repeatedly by the driver of the fleeing suspected vehicle — until five officers returned fire and killed the driver, state investigators said.
The names of the officers involved and the person killed were not released Monday by the state Division of Criminal Investigation, which is investigating the shooting. None of the officers was injured.
According to the DCI, the episode unfolded during a police chase that went on for miles on the city’s east side as the driver fired at pursuing officers on at least three occasions.
Iowa outdoor enthusiasts went on the year’s first hike
It was a good day for long-haired dogs, children with puffy coats and Eastern Iowa friends from different cities who met to enjoy nature on the first day of 2024.
Hikers of all ages met at the lodge at noon and took off along the Cedar Cliff trail, which winds along the bluff of the Cedar River. Some people strode the full 2-mile, hilly trail, while others stopped at the gazebo to chat with Ranger Luke Wagner. A couple families with small children spent an hour on the riverbank sandbar, digging with sticks and watching the ducks huddled in the frigid water.
They all met back at the lodge for cocoa, hot dogs and s’mores roasted over a fire in the massive stone hearth of the 1930s building.
Iowa Republicans look to broaden religious freedom
Iowa’s Republican leaders say they are not planning to expand on the list of laws passed last year addressing conservative social issues and regulating gender and sexuality issues in schools, but lawmakers may revive a push for religious liberty protections.
State Sen. Dennis Guth, a Republican from Klemme, said Republicans are going to pursue a bill to strengthen religious liberty protections, mirroring the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The law, signed in 1993 by Democratic President Bill Clinton, requires that courts apply strict scrutiny, the highest level of judicial review, when considering cases where a person’s religious liberty is burdened. It was passed as a reaction to a 1990 U.S. Supreme Court case that was seen as narrowing religious freedoms.
