Gazette Daily News Podcast, July 28
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Friday, July 28.
Friday looks to be the hottest day of the Summer and the peak this week before we return to milder weather. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny and hot on Friday, with a high near 100 degrees. The heat index could reach as high as 112.
Friday night the peak will likely break with some showers or thunderstorms, with 60 percent chance of rain after 1:00 a.m.
Cedar Rapids school leaders will be doing more “fact finding” and “go back to the drawing board to seek out other possibilities” for middle schools based on feedback they received from the city council about a facility plan, Superintendent Tawana Grover said.
The school board and Cedar Rapids City Council held their first joint meeting Wednesday to discuss a facility master plan proposed by the school district.There they heard that the Mayor and members of the Cedar Rapids City Council were displeased by the $445 million facilities plan shifting schools away from the core and west side of city, potentially impeding the development the city is attempting to do there.
Grover said school leaders will “honor the feedback we heard” from the Cedar Rapids City Council.
“We believe investment in our schools is an investment in the city,” Grover said in an interview with The Gazette. “Having them at the table is critical … to understand their future vision as well.”
The Cedar Rapids school board will have a work session to further discuss a facility master plan that encompasses every school in the district on Monday, at 5:30 p.m. at the Educational Leadership and Support Center.
Motorists can expect to see more construction on another stretch of Mount Vernon Road SE in the coming year.
The Cedar Rapids City Council this week gave the go-ahead to a project that’s been in the works for about three years to reconstruct the roadways on 10th Street SE, Eighth Avenue SE and Mount Vernon Road SE to create a roundabout at the high-traffic intersection near McKinley STEAM Academy, Mercy Medical Center and other businesses.
In addition to the roundabout, the project includes work on the storm sewer, sidewalks and removal of an existing pedestrian overpass, Tim Mroch, the capital improvement program manager, told the Gazette.
Coralville has been preparing for months to welcome tens of thousands of cyclists Friday from all over the world during the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
This year’s RAGBRAI route began July 22 in Sioux City and arrives Friday to stay overnight in Coralville. The cyclists will leave Saturday, going through Iowa City, and head toward Davenport to wrap up the ride.
This is Coralville’s sixth time as an overnight host, and the city recruited more than 900 volunteers for this year’s stop. If you’re traveling through Coralville and Iowa City, plan to allow extra time and use extra caution while driving through Friday or early Saturday.
Coralville is gearing up for a double celebration as RAGBRAI’s 50th year coincides with the city's own 150th anniversary. The theme of Coralville’s overnight stop is "Cheers to the years.”
Mayor Meghann Foster previously told The Gazette how Coralville is well-suited to be an overnight stop for RAGBRAI with hospitality being part of the city’s heritage, along with various options for entertainment, retail and restaurants.
“Coralville knows how to throw a good party,” Foster said.
