Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 17
This Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, May 17.
Wednesday will be another pleasant, sunny day, with only the increasing wind giving a hint of rainier weather to come on Thursday. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 75 degrees. The wind will generally hover around 10 mph, but could gust as high as 20 mph. On Wednesday night it will be partly cloudy, with a low of around 52 degrees.
Northeast Iowa’s 166-year-old Upper Iowa University is cutting 37 positions and closing seven of its more than 20 regional education centers due to dropping enrollment, shifting student needs and headwinds facing all of higher education.
The cuts include 22 layoffs at the private university’s main campus in Fayette and 15 positions lost in Upper Iowa’s closure of its single Illinois location in Rockford and six Wisconsin sites, including locations in Madison and Milwaukee.
The changes are part of the university’s efforts to focus on its main residential Fayette Campus; its strongest performing centers in Iowa, Louisiana and four military bases; and its online and self-paced distance learning programs, according to Upper Iowa spokeswoman Lynette Brandt.
Upper Iowa — founded in 1857, just over a decade after Iowa became a state — in the fall reported a total enrollment of 3,072, up slightly from 3,027 in fall 2021 but down 43 percent from the 5,382 it reported in fall 2018, according to Iowa College Aid.
Upper Iowa’s layoffs and closures follow the abrupt end to Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, which ceased its 181-year run last week as the second oldest university in Iowa.
An Iowa City man has been arrested in connection with a weekend shooting that seriously injured another man near a downtown parking garage, Iowa City police said.
Alexander O. Voudhivong, 22, faces charges of willful injury causing serious injury, reckless use of a firearm, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, fourth-degree criminal mischief and assault while participating in a felony.
Iowa City police were called about 11:45 p.m. Saturday to the 300 block of Iowa Avenue, near the Clock Tower Parking Ramp, where they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. The man was taken to the hospital to be treated for serious injuries, police said. The victim’s name has not yet been released.
A criminal complaint states that Voudhivong took a gun from someone else and then used it to shoot the victim multiple times. Shell casings hit windows on a nearby building, causing an estimated $500 in damage.
Voudhivong then left the crime scene and changed his clothes in an attempt to disguise himself before leaving the area completely, the complaint states.
The shooting still is under investigation and Iowa City police said they anticipate more arrests will be made.
