Gazette Daily News Briefing, January 3
This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, January 3rd, 2024.
According to the National Weather Service, today will have a slight chance of freezing drizzle between 7am and 8am. Otherwise it’ll be mostly cloudy, with a high near 35 Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Johnson County, Iowa City governments choose leaders
The seven-member Iowa City Council on Tuesday elected Bruce Teague to continue to serve as mayor for a third time.
Unlike many cities, Iowa City voters do not directly vote for the mayor, so it is the council’s decision. His colleagues first elected Teague to the role in 2020.
Council member Megan Alter, who served as mayor pro tem from 2022-23, nominated council member Mazahir Salih for mayor pro tem — essentially an assistant mayor who fills in when the mayor isn’t available.
No other nominations were put forward for either position, so the council unanimously supported Teague as mayor and Salih as mayor pro tem.
Days before caucuses, GOP candidates hold clashing events
Former President Donald Trump will skip a televised debate five days before Iowa’s caucuses featuring GOP rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley and will instead hold a competing event at the same time.
And presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who failed to qualify for the CNN debate stage, also will hold his own event at the same time.
The end result: Three clashing Republican campaign events in Des Moines.
They all are scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Jan. 10. Iowa's Republican caucuses will be held Jan. 15.
Passenger in Cedar Rapids car chase before shootout was a juvenile
The passenger who left a car during a police chase that ended in a shootout Monday is a juvenile, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Authorities say police responded to reports of the shooting and quickly began pursuing the suspect vehicle, described by the DCI as being occupied by two males. The driver began shooting with a rifle at police near First Avenue and 12th Street SE and again near Mount Vernon Road and 34th Street SE, investigators said.
“At some point in the pursuit, the passenger in the suspect vehicle exited the vehicle and was taken into custody by officers,” according to a news release from the DCI.
According to Joe Lestina, DCI special agent in charge of the investigation. The identity of the passenger — and any information about any charges he may be facing — will not be released to the public because he is a juvenile
