Gazette Daily News Briefing, October 29 and October 30
Welcome to the weekend!
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday, October 29, and Sunday, October 30.
The weekend will start with fog, then get cloudy, but no rain is in the forecast at the moment. According to the National Weather Service, there will be patchy fog before 9 a.m. in the Cedar Rapids area. Otherwise it will be sunny, with a high near 64 degrees. On Saturday night it will become increasingly cloudy, with a low around 42 degrees. Sunday is predicted to be mostly cloudy with a high near 64 degrees, and a low of around 42 degrees. The wind should be calm all weekend.
The city of Iowa City is taking legal action against the property and business owners of the H-Bar following a recent fatal shooting, increased serious incidents and a spike in calls for service.
The city filed a nuisance abatement petition Friday afternoon in Johnson County District Court requesting the court require the H-Bar, located at 220 S. Van Buren St., to close between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily. The bar is currently open 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thursdays and 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to its Facebook page.
The city said in a news release Friday afternoon it is pursuing these measures “to protect the community from the ongoing serious criminal activity occurring at and around the business since its opening earlier this year.”
A hearing for the city’s request for temporary injunction has been set for Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Johnson County Courthouse.
Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 23 of this year, there were 173 calls for service at the address. These calls ranged from fights to firearm incidents. Last Sunday, Waymond Thomas, 36, of Iowa City was struck by gunfire outside of the H-Bar following an altercation that started inside. Thomas was transported to the hospital, where he died.
West Liberty Foods will close its Mount Pleasant meat-processing and slicing facility in early May of next year, eliminating 350 jobs there, the company announced Friday.
The West Liberty-based company will move and consolidate operations from this location to other facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Utah, the company said in a news release Friday.
The closure will occur in two phases, with the first on Dec. 31. Brian Melhus, general counsel for West Liberty Foods, told The Gazette 130 employees will be impacted in the first phase, with the remaining 220 employees impacted in the second phase.
All operations will cease at the plant on May 7, 2023.
West Liberty Foods also has plants in Bolingbrook, Ill., and Tremonton, Utah in addition to the West Liberty location. Melhus said the company doesn’t expect the other locations to be impacted.
According to Melhus, the Mount Pleasant location specialized in producing sliced deli meats, and its business was impacted when a customer of West Liberty Food decided to slice its meat in store.
