Gazette Daily News Briefing, March 23
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Thursday, March 23.
Rain in the morning Thursday will gradually give way to mostly sunny skies. According to the National Weather Service there will be a chance for showers before 8 a.m. in the Cedar Rapids area and some lighter right between then and noon. After that, it should clear up to be mostly sunny, with a high near 45 degrees. The low is predicted to be around 28 degrees. There looks to be a chance for some snow on Friday, but don't worry, it won't last long.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, as well as transgender bathroom restrictions for schools, that are almost certain to be challenged in court.
Reynolds signed Senate File 538, making Iowa one of a growing number of states to prohibit gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
The newly-signed law prohibits Iowa doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender children under the age of 18. It also prohibits any surgeries on minors intended to affirm a gender that does not match up with their sex at birth.
Minors who are receiving medical treatment now would have 180 days to discontinue that care.
The governor also signed Senate File 482 that prohibits transgender youth from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.
The bills will likely be at least temporarily halted by a legal challenge. Similar bills in other states are being challenged in the courts.
A Cedar Rapids man set for trial next week pleaded to lesser charges Wednesday for fatally shooting his girlfriend and another man and injuring several others last April inside the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge.
Timothy L. Rush, 33, originally charged with two counts of second-degree murder, would have faced up to 100 years if convicted on those charges alone. Now, he will face only up to 30 years in prison.
Rush pleaded in writing Wednesday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of reckless use of a firearm causing bodily injury, and one count each of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to the plea agreement, three charges will run concurrently to the other charges and all other charges run consecutively for a total of 30 years in prison.
A Cedar Rapids man who has worked as a substitute teacher in the Cedar Rapids Community School District was arrested Tuesday on charges that he groomed and sexually exploited a student while he was a teacher at Central DeWitt High School.
Cody David LaKose, 37, is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor — cause to engage in act, and four counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee. He was released from jail Wednesday on a $10,000 bond.
The DeWitt Police Department opened a formal investigation into LaKose on March 2, 2022, after a former student reported that he had groomed her and had a sexual relationship with her while she was his student, according to a criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, LaKose and the reporting student had sexual relations in his office at the DeWitt high school while she was a student, in the spring 2017. He also messaged her on Twitter and texted her, talking about sexual things and asking for and receiving nude photos.
Between January 2019 and June 2020, LaKose worked as a substitute teacher in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, primarily at Franklin Middle School, according to Caitlin Wiedenheft, the district’s communications director. The district did not receive any complaints about him, Wiedenheft said.
LaKose’s LinkedIn account — which was deleted sometime Wednesday — indicated that he teaches at the Regina Catholic Education Center in Iowa City, having started in August 2020. The school did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
