Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 20
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, May 20.
Friday's weather should start with showers and thunderstorms, but it will eventually clear off into a sunny day. The showers are mostly predicted to be between around 4 a.m. and 11 a.m. After that, the clouds should gradually clear, with a high of around 70 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area.
A judge Thursday set a $1.5 million bail for a Cedar Rapids man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in two fatal shootings that happened within 24 hours of each other in January.
Sixth Judicial Associate District Judge Russell Keast, during an initial appearance hearing, ordered the bail for Kazius Childress, 20, without hearing any arguments from the prosecution or defense. Childress was arrested with the assistance of U.S. Marshalls in Davenport on Tuesday.
So far criminal complaints haven't provided a motive or the connection, if any, between the two victims and Childress. Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said Thursday they were “associates” but declined to provide further information.
Mercy Medical Center has named Dr. Timothy Quinn as its next president and CEO.
The family medicine physician, who has been the executive vice president and chief of clinical operations since 2012, will step into the top leadership position effective Jan. 1, 2023.
Officials at the 424-bed hospital in Cedar Rapids announced their selection on Thursday.
Dr. Quinn will replace Timothy Charles, who plans to retire at the end of this year after 19 years at Mercy Medical.
Iowa athletics director Gary Barta opened himself to criticism earlier this month when, on a UI athletics website podcast, he suggested the NCAA consider reinstating a year of ineligibility for transfers.
In an interview with the Gazette, Barta conceded that such a change is unlikely at this point, but he did seek to clarify his stance that the current situation promoting a bidding war for recruits is unsustainable.
Barta said NIL opportunities should be for student athletes, not recruits, and he hopes the NCAA can restrict situations where boosters might be paying players directly rather than through the proper channels.
“If they do that, in theory, hopefully it would slow things down, it would get it back to a realization that name, image and likeness is designed for student-athletes to earn money off their name, image or likeness. It's not designed to be used as a recruiting addition,” Barta said.
You can read the edited interview between the Gazette and Barta on theGazette.com.
