Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 15
This Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Monday, May 15.
The rain chances will go down on Monday, but the clouds will remain much of the day. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 66 degrees. There will be a 20 percent chance of precipitation, mostly before 2 p.m. On Monday night it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of around 52 degrees.
With an early look at weather for the rest of the week, it appears as if it will become sunnier and warmer than this weekend, with the rain only returning Thursday night into Friday.
The rainy forecast ruined more than picnics this weekend: Fans of presidential politics missed a cross state showdown
This was to be the first weekend when both former president Donald Trump and current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were set to tour the state at the same time. Trump and DeSantis lead early polls for Republican favorites for president in 2024,
But Trump canceled his planned outdoor rally for Saturday evening in Des Moines, citing warnings of significant rain and winds reaching 70 miles per hour, a forecast that turned out to be a false alarm.
DeSantis made his Iowa trips this weekend, including a visit to Cedar Rapids, where he touted his reputation as a conservative governor willing to push hard for conservative policies and embrace conservative culture fights, be it against gender identity in schools or Walt Disney.
Police are investigating the cause of an early morning accident that left two people dead and three people injured Sunday.
According to a Cedar Rapids Police Department media release, emergency responders were dispatched at 2:56 a.m. for a two-vehicle accident in the 2100 block of Williams Boulevard SW.
After completing an initial investigation, police say a Dodge Caliber was traveling east on Williams Boulevard SW when it began to spin out of control and struck a Toyota RAV4 traveling west on Williams Boulevard.
The 23-year-old driver of the Dodge Caliber was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. A 29-year-old passenger in the Dodge was transported to a hospital, but died there following treatment.
The three adult passengers of the Toyota SUV were all seriously injured, but their injuries are not believed to be fatal, according to police. They were transported to a hospital for medical care to help recover from their injuries.
Names of those involved in the crash are being withheld pending notification of families.
One man was seriously injured in a shooting near the Clock Tower Parking Ramp in Iowa City late Saturday.
Police responded to the Clock Tower Parking Ramp at Iowa and Gilbert streets after hearing multiple shots being fired around 11:45 p.m.
The man was found on an Iowa Avenue sidewalk next to the parking ramp. Fire crews and paramedics provided aid at the scene and he was transported to a hospital to be treated for serious injuries, police said. His name has not been released.
A suspect was last seen fleeing the area on foot with several other people who had been involved in a fight before the shooting. No description of the suspect was released.
