Gazette Daily News Briefing, October 20
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for October 20, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny on Friday in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 67 degrees. On Friday evening it will be mostly clear, with a low around 50 degrees.
The Cedar Rapids school board is upholding its decision to have Harrison Elementary demolished and a new school built on the site after community members implored the board to reconsider.
Residents believe the board’s decision lacks transparency and community input and could jeopardize the $220 million bond referendum going to voters Nov. 7, that would fund additional facility projects.
“I still believe a new facility is in the best interest of students, and I support the decision made back in April,” school board President David Tominsky said. “This recommendation will serve students, is fiscally responsible and will honor historic elements of the Harrison building.”
Ten people spoke during the public comment period of the special board meeting Thursday, all asking the board not to demolish the school, built in 1930.
Most school board members also spoke in favor of the decision. Board member Dexter Merschbrock continued his opposition to the decision, making a motion to not demolish Harrison.The motion was not seconded by any other board member and did not proceed.
Harrison is one of seven public schools built in Cedar Rapids before World War II, opening in 1930. The school contains a mural painted later in the 1930s by William Henning, a contemporary of Grant Wood. School officials have said that mural will be preserved.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump would be in a dead heat among likely voters if the 2024 presidential election were held today, according to the latest Grinnell College National Poll.
Both Biden and Trump running as their party’s respective nominee attract 40 percent support among likely voters. Eighteen percent say they would vote for someone else, according to the poll, conducted in collaboration with renowned Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer.
Support for both men splits along party lines, with 82 percent of Republicans saying they favor Trump and 83 percent of Democrats surveyed backing Biden. Independent voters remain divided, but tilt toward Trump, with 30 percent saying they would vote for someone else.
In other polling areas, a strong bipartisan majority also favors term limits for Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifty-nine percent support abolishing the Electoral College, and a 49 percent plurality also would do away with birthright citizenship.
