Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 21 and May 22
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22.
Saturday's weather will be very similar to what we had Friday. According to the National Weather Service, it will be cloudy for much of the day with a high of 57 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. There will be at least a slight chance of rain all day, with the highest chance of showers and thunderstorms being between 1 and 4 p.m.
Sunday will just be simple, sunny and pleasant. There will be a high of 64 degrees with sunny skies. It will be a little windy, with wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Rain is set to return on Monday.
Political fundraising is heating up in Iowa as the primaries are approaching and November election day isn't that far away. In the gubernatorial race, Democrat Deidre DeJear is doing better in her fundraising but Gov. Kim Reynolds is still continuing to use her incumbent status to dominate in resources available.
After raising just less than $280,000 in the last four-plus months of 2021, DeJear reported raising nearly $740,000 in the first four-plus months of this year, according to state campaign records.
But that still pales in comparison to the $1.3 million raised by Reynolds over the same period this year.
Thursday was an election year reporting deadline for state candidates in Iowa. Candidates were required to report all fundraising from Jan. 1 through May 14. They will be required to file another report before the June 7 primary election, for which early voting is underway.
DeJear finished the period with just less than $382,000 left in her campaign account. Reynolds, meanwhile, finished the period sitting on a shade under $5 million in the bank.
Meanwhile, Rick Stewart, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for Iowa governor, has paused his campaign after being arrested while protesting recently in Arlington, Va.
The Libertarian Party of Iowa issued a statement saying it “completely supports the decision,” and indicated Stewart will resume his campaign before this fall’s election.
Stewart, an activist from Cedar Rapids, was participating in a non-violent protest at the federal Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in support of allowing terminally ill cancer patients to use psilocybin, the hallucinogenic ingredient in certain mushrooms, under the “Right to Try” act.
Stewart was charged with trespassing during a staged "die-in" protest outside of the Drug Enforcement Agency headquarters.
When the city of Cedar Rapids once again begins charging fares for transit bus rides later this summer, staff are proposing a simplified, equitable reduced-fare system.
To reduce confusion and conflict at the fare box as well as encourage more ridership, Cedar Rapids Transit riders would be charged less to ride the public vehicles, according to a proposal made this week to the Cedar Rapids City Council’s Finance and Administrative Services Committee.
The city has not charged fares to ride the bus since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to minimize contact between drivers and passengers. This new fare system would take effect Sept. 6, after Labor Day, pending approval from the City Council.
Full fare would be $1, down from $1.50, under the proposal.
