Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 12
This Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Friday, May 12
There will be more chances for rain on Friday, especially in the afternoon and evening. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 80 degrees. After 1 p.m. there will be an increased chance for rain going into the evening and into a rainy Saturday.
Iowa farm groups are decrying a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that upholds a California animal cruelty law that regulates livestock confinement practices.
The high court found that the law, approved by California voters in 2018, does not violate the U.S. Constitution. The law regulates the confinement practices of birthing sows, veal calves and egg-laying hens whose products are sold in California, including those produced outside the state.
The law, in part, requires that breeding sows that give birth to hogs sold for pork in California be given 24 square feet of space — a regulation that national farm groups said violated the Constitution’s provisions that prevent states from restricting interstate commerce.
The Iowa Pork Producers Association said in a statement issued Thursday the law would raise the cost of pork nationwide by putting more stringent requirements on pork destined for California. Iowa leads the nation in pork production, raising about a third of the country's hogs.
A 17-year-old boy was killed Wednesday night in a shooting in northeast Cedar Rapids,
Cedar Rapids Police responded at 10:09 p.m. to the 3500 block of Oakland Road NE after 911 callers reported hearing a disturbance and one gunshot.
Officers found the teen suffering from an apparent gunshot wound in his upper torso. He was treated on-scene and transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
The name of the victim has not yet been released. No arrests had been announced in relation to the shooting as of Thursday and police are asking for anyone who may have seen the shooting to contact them.
Multiple people were injured in a fire at a Sun Tan City in Marion on Wednesday, according to the Marion Fire Department.
The fire department responded to the business on Blairs Ferry Road, at about 6 p.m. Wednesday. Two people were transported via ambulance with serious injuries, and a few others were evaluated on scene, according to Marion Fire Chief Tom Fagan.
Firefighters were able to confine the fire mostly to Sun Tan City, so it didn’t spread to other businesses in the area, Fagan said. The Marion Fire Department was assisted by Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha and Robins fire departments.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It’s being investigated by the Iowa State Fire Marshal.
