Gazette Daily News Briefing, July 11 and July 12
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of July 11th and 12th
Saturday and Sunday will continue the weather trend of late this week, bringing both cooling weather and a chance for rain. According to the National Weather Service, on Saturday there should be a high near 84 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be partly sunny for much of the day, but showers and thunderstorms are predicted for between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m., with the chance for rain increasing from 30 percent to 60 percent as the day goes on. On Sunday there will be all of the cooling with none of the rain, with a predicted high of 83 degrees and mostly sunny skies with calming wind.
Facing mounting COVID-19 losses, the University of Iowa on Friday announced plans for sweeping budget cuts that temporarily lay off 112 housing and dining workers, freeze pay for about 4,200 other employees, leave 32 positions unfilled and cut President Bruce Harreld’s salary in half for the rest of the year.
Those savings and others are meant to offset tens of millions in losses from COVID-19-related hits, extra expenses associated with bringing students back to campus this fall, cuts in state funding and projected enrollment dips that would curtail tuition revenue.
If that wasn’t enough, in a sign the UI expects funding challenges to endure, the university announced plans to begin weaning its cherished Hancher Auditorium off general fund support, aiming to make the nationally renowned performance venue self-supporting within three years.
Iowa’s coronavirus cases continued to increase Friday, while hospitalizations and deaths from the disease continued their slow climb upward. Linn County reported 34 new coronavirus cases Friday by 11 a.m., the highest single-day increase since May 6, when the increase was 35. Iowa reported 638 new COVID-19 cases over the same time frame, with a total of 33,759 in the state.
Iowa’s increases indicating the severity of the disease in the state were slight, but continued an overall upward trend. One more person was hospitalized, bringing the total number of hospitalizations in Iowa to 169. The number of patients in intensive care units increased from 49 to 54, and those on ventilators increased from 22 to 26.
Iowa’s deaths from the disease reached 748 by the end of Friday.
The City of Cedar Rapids announced a big project Friday that will solidify its standing as a center for the development of radio, GPS, and aeronautical development, particularly for military purposes. First a bit of backstory, BAE Systems, based in the United Kingdom, agreed to purchase Collins Aerospace’s military GPS business in January for $1.925 billion after U.S. Department of Justice regulators asked Collins Aerospace to divest the unit as part of the merger between Raytheon Co. and the owner of what was then called Rockwell Collins, United Technologies Corp. Collins Aerospace, the largest employer in Cedar Rapids, has about 10,000 employees in Iowa. About 675 are in its military GPS operations, which BAE Systems will acquire.
Back to Friday’s news. After considering multiple sites throughout the United States, BAE was convinced, with the help of tax incentives offered by the city, to keep those 650 jobs in Cedar Rapids. These jobs will be located at a new $139 million facility. Construction on the 200,000-square-foot facility near the intersection of 76th Avenue SW and Sixth Street SW would start by October.
The trial for the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts — who died two years ago next week — has been reset to January due to delays caused by court rulings and the COVID-19 pandemic. The trial also will now be held in Scott County District Court in Davenport.
The trial for 26-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who is charged with first-degree murder, was previously set for Sept. 29 in Woodbury County District Court. The trial was moved out of Poweshiek County because of pretrial publicity.
Finally, Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart told local Black Lives Matter protest leaders by email Friday that city officials will not continue participating directly in talks with the advocates as the City Council embarks on efforts to reform the police department.
Advocates for Social Justice, a group that drafted seven demands for police reform in Cedar Rapids after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd on May 25, had been meeting in person and over Zoom with several city leaders, though those talks turned contentious. Last week the group marched in protest of feeling sidelined from the reform process, even protesting outside of Hart’s home.
Hart said he encouraged Advocates for Social Justice to stay involved in the process by reaching out to council members either in person or over phone or email.
There was even more news Friday but that’s all we have time for now. Head to thegazette.com if you would like to read more. Otherwise, have yourself a great weekend.
