Gazette Daily News Briefing, October 12
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for October 12, 2023.
More rain is likely for Thursday. And, according to the National Weather Service, showers will become progressively more likely as the day goes on in the Cedar Rapids area, topping out at about 80 percent probability. It will be a little bit warmer, with a high of around 61 degrees. It will also be breezy, with a wind of 20 to 25 mph gusting as high as 40 mph.
In response to the surprise news that the University of Iowa won’t be taking over its longtime community health care competitor Mercy Hospital after being outbid in a bankruptcy auction, UI President Barbara Wilson and UI Health Care Vice President Denise Jamieson expressed disappointment Wednesday.
“We are disappointed in this outcome because we believe there is value in having patient care delivered by an Iowa-based health system,” Wilson and Jamieson said in their statement. “Nevertheless, we are heartened that the selected bidder, the bondholder, has committed to keeping Mercy Iowa City as a hospital.”
According to the statement, the UI participated in the auction “because it is important to protect and enhance access to quality health care and jobs in our community.”
Preston Hollow is a multibillion-dollar investor providing backing for “projects of significant social and economic value to local communities across the United States.”
American Healthcare Systems is a 2-year-old Los Angeles-based health care operator that has made several health system-related purchases since its inception. It started with Asheboro, N.C.-based Randolph Health in 2021 — when American Healthcare received bankruptcy court approval to acquire that community health care system.
The young corporation has a leadership team of four, including Chief Strategy Officer Faisal Gill, who told The Gazette he leads acquisitions and mergers for the company.
“We want to save community hospitals,” Gill said, noting his company looks specifically for community hospitals facing challenges. “We want to turn them around and have them for the community. We did that in North Carolina and in Illinois. And we plan to do that in Iowa as well.”
An inspection of Taft Middle School led to the evacuation of a portion of the building Wednesday because of structural instability.
In a message to families, district officials announced that as a precautionary measure, students and staff will not use the east dome of Taft Middle— which houses the cafeteria, kitchen and performing arts classrooms — until further notice.
District officials did not respond to questions from The Gazette about how much repairs are estimated to cost, the timeline of the repairs and where there will be room for students with a portion of the building closed.
The east dome will not be occupied again until repairs are completed and the district receives an official notification that the use of that dome can be resumed, Taft Principal Gary Hatfield said in a message to families Wednesday.
One of the two men killed in a shooting last week at a Cedar Rapids apartment complex was delivering a DoorDash order at the time of the shooting, according to his mother.
Myron Snyder and Maurice Brown, both 21 and both of Cedar Rapids, were found with multiple gunshot wounds in the parking lot of 3960 Sherman St. NE when Cedar Rapids police responded to reports of gunshots at 8:21 p.m. on Oct. 5.
Brown and Snyder died from their injuries. Another man, who police haven’t identified, also was found with gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Snyder’s mother, Alicia Rogers, said Snyder was delivering for the restaurant delivery service when the shooting started.
Jenn Rosenberg, a DoorDash spokesperson, confirmed that Snyder worked on behalf of the company and it has been contacted by law enforcement about the shooting.
“This was a tragic loss of life and our hearts are with the victim’s loved ones. We are actively in touch with local law enforcement to support their ongoing investigation however we can,” Rosenberg told The Gazette in an emailed statement.
Besides delivering for DoorDash, Snyder also worked part time with the Boys and Girls Club of the Corridor. The First Congregational United Church of Christ in Cedar Rapids said it was raising money for the family, and a separate GoFundMe page had raised over $2,400 by Wednesday afternoon.
