Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 18
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, May 18.
Rain is likely Wednesday morning, but it will eventually clear off into a pretty nice day. According to the National Weather Service, there is a chance for rain and potentially thunderstorms in the Cedar Rapids area Wednesday morning. The chance for rain should conclude by noon, with clouds clearing into a sunny sky and a high of 76 degrees. It should remain clear Wednesday night, with a low of 55 degrees.
U.S. Marshals on late Tuesday afternoon arrested a man in Davenport who is being charged for two Cedar Rapids fatal shootings that occurred within 24 hours of each other in January.
Kazius Jarekaiser Childress, 20, was arrested for the fatal shootings of Cordal R. Lewis, 19, and Kavon I. Johnson, 22, on Jan. 27 and 28, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks told The Gazette.
According to criminal complaints, Childress is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of going armed with intent.
Cedar Rapids police have not yet provided a motive for the killings or any connection between the three men, but did reveal that they were assisted by U.S. Marshals Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force to make the arrest.
The E15 blend of ethanol, which contains a higher percentage of the corn-based fuel and is typically about 10 cents per gallon cheaper, will become available at most Iowa gas stations under legislation signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Reynolds held a ceremonial bill-signing at a Central Iowa farm near Prairie City, about a half-hour east of Des Moines.
Under the new law, Iowa gas stations must by 2026 offer the E15 blend of ethanol in at least one pump. The lower E10 ethanol blend is currently the most common at Iowa gas stations.
Just more than 10 percent of Iowa gas stations currently offer E15, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
The law allows smaller stations to apply for an exemption to the requirement, and makes financial assistance available for stations that will need to upgrade their infrastructure to store and provide the E15 ethanol blend.
Linn County Public Health is now offering treatment for hepatitis C in its clinic, an unusual step for a county public health department in Iowa as local officials take on a larger role in harm reduction efforts.
Hepatitis C is an inflammatory liver disease, affecting at least 27,000 people in Iowa, caused by a virus, which is passed by contact with blood from someone who has the infection. For some, it’s a short-term illness, but the majority develop chronic infections.
Historically, chronic hepatitis C has been most prevalent among baby boomers, or those born between 1945 and 1965, officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health said. However, recently there has been an uptick in cases in younger age groups, and health officials are finding this particularly true of individuals who use injectable drugs, such as heroin.
