Gazette Daily News Briefing, January 20
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, January 20.
Nothing too exciting on tap weather wise for Friday. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly cloudy with a high near 29 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. A northwest wind of 10 to 15 mph could gust as high as 25 mph. On Friday night it will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 20 degrees.
Union workers have tentatively struck a deal with Ingredion officials that may soon bring an end to its monthslong strike against the company’s Cedar Rapids facility, the union president said Thursday.
Mike Moore, the principal and president of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 100G, said he and his committee are reviewing the tentative agreement “with a fine-toothed comb.”
“If everything pans out, we will get it to our members hopefully within the next 24 hours,” Moore said.
If that is successful, Moore said he plans to send the contract to a vote on Sunday at Teamsters Hall, where 105 union members could opt to ratify the contract. That would bring an end to the strike that began Aug. 1.
Alexander Jackson, in a police interview, never admitted to killing his parents and 19-year-old sister on June 15, 2021, but after hours of interrogation he did admit his college grades had plummeted and his dad expected him to get a job or move out.
Cedar Rapids Police investigators believed that could have been the motive for him to fatally shoot his father Jan Jackson, 61, mother Melissa Jackson, 68, and his sister Sabrina Jackson.
According to testimony, the family members died of multiple gunshot wounds. Police found them dead in separate rooms in the house.
The prosecution will rest Friday after four days of testimony, and the defense will start its case. Closings may be Monday or Tuesday. There will be live coverage each day on thegazette.com.
Iowa legislative leaders expect Gov. Kim Reynolds’ private school assistance proposal to come to a floor vote early next week in both the House and the Senate.
Reynolds, a Republican, announced the bill Jan. 10, and it has dominated the first two weeks of the legislative session. Republicans have fast-tracked it through the lawmaking process in both chambers.
If the bill passes through both chambers, it will go to Reynolds’ desk to be signed into law. Next week is National School Choice Week, a week of advocacy and events focused on giving parents broader options in education.
Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley maintained confidence Thursday that Republicans have the votes to pass the bill this year. A far narrower private school scholarship program last year failed to gain support of several Republicans in the House, some from rural areas who were concerned about how it would affect public schools in their districts.
