Gazette Daily News Briefing, June 30
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Friday, June 30.
According to the National Weather Service it will be a mostly cloudy day in the Cedar Rapids area on Friday, with a high near 89 degrees. There will be a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon, and a 40 percent chance after 7 p.m.
A divided Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.
The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public colleges, respectively.
The decision will have widespread effects throughout the country for years to come, but, for now, Iowa’s three public universities are not likely to be affected by the ruling. The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa use a standardized rubric called the Regent Admission Index to determine undergraduate admissions. The index considers GPA, courses taken in core areas and ACT scores, and it does not factor in the applicant’s race.
University of Iowa spokesperson Jeneane Beck said the university’s graduate and professional programs have their own criteria for admissions, and officials will be reviewing the ruling to ensure their recruiting and admissions standards align with best practices.
Steve Emerson, the prolific local developer who’s fueled the redevelopment of many downtown Cedar Rapids properties, closed Thursday on the purchase of the former Guaranty Bank property — setting in motion the transformation of a key site in the urban core.
As the COVID-19 pandemic put a previous redevelopment plan that included a nine-story hotel and two restaurants on ice, Emerson’s takeover will add either housing or hotel units to the heart of Cedar Rapids.
The $2.8 million sale includes the Guaranty Bank and Old World Theater properties off Third Street and Third Avenue SE, as well as the Dragon Building a few blocks away on Second Avenue SE. These were owned by Guaranty Realty and were originally listed for $3.1 million.
Meanwhile, the downtown building that formerly housed The Gazette is undergoing a $6.3 million remodeling process to become the new offices of the Shuttleworth & Ingersoll law firm
The Cedar Rapids City Council this week awarded financial incentives for the property at 500 Third Ave. SE, which is owned by developer Steve Emerson.
The Gazette office was in the building for nearly 95 years before moving to 116 Third St. SE in August 2020, its fifth downtown location since the newspaper was founded in 1883.
The project was awarded city financial incentives under the Green Building Economic Development Program as it will achieve LEED certification, a measure of its sustainability and energy efficiency.
