Gazette Daily News Briefing, June 11 and June 12
There will be the possibility of showers and thunderstorms almost all weekend, but the possibility will never get very high. According to the National Weather Service the chance for rain will hover between 10 and 40 percent starting Saturday morning until around 2 p.m. Sunday. When it is not raining, it is expected to be warmer during the weekend and partly sunny, with a high of 80 degrees Saturday and 86 degrees Sunday. This is a prelude to much warmer temperatures next week.
Former Cedar Rapids Washington girls’ basketball coach Frank Howell died Friday at the age of 52.
Howell, whose trademark in 13 years of coaching girls’ basketball at Cedar Rapids Washington was a bright red sweater and consistent winning, died Friday afternoon of an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Beyond his many wins, Howell left behind an impact on his players and fellow coaches, who shared their grief at Howell’s passing on social media throughout the day.
Howell is survived by his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Meredith and Natalie.
Wisconsin-based refrigeration and appliance company Sub-Zero is seeking city and state incentives to build a $140.6 million light manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids that would add nearly 200 full-time jobs, most considered to be at the high-quality wage rate.
The Cedar Rapids City Council is slated to consider a term sheet Tuesday outlining preliminary points of a deal with the company and the developer, an entity of Tiffany Earl Williams, to build a 400,000 square-foot building at 10015 Sixth St. SW, east of The Eastern Iowa Airport.
Located near the airport between Walford Road and Wright Brothers Boulevard SW, this part of town has seen a boom in construction. Cedar Rapids has attracted growing manufacturing, warehousing and logistics and distribution companies, among others, thanks to easy access to the airport and highway network in the southwest quadrant.
The University of Iowa is suing two contractors who installed 900-some windows in its 14-story Stead Family Children’s Hospital, many of which have proved defective, with delamination and cracks showing just five years after the hospital’s opening.
UI Health Care in April 2021 went to the Board of Regents asking to spend another $10 to $15 million to replace two floors of damaged windows — which they first discovered in July 2019, two years after the 2017 opening.
An extra $15 million pushed the total hospital cost — already ballooned from $270 million to $392.7 million — up to a new total of $407.7 million. As part of the new expense, UI installed a protective film and clips to secure the windows and mitigate potential safety concerns.
The campus also closed the new Children’s Hospital playground out of an abundance of caution. Officials have stressed the defective windows don’t pose a threat to patients, employees, visitors or the public. No one has been harmed, although the windows need to be replaced and are being monitored.
