Gazette Daily News Podcast, May 18
This Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Thursday, May 18.
There will likely be some rain late Thursday into Friday, but you wouldn't know it from how the weather will be before that. According to the National Weather Service, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 82 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area on Thursday. Thursday night there will be a low of around 56 degrees.
Looking at the probability charts, the weather service predicts a possibility of rain between 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. on Friday, with the highest probability of rain set at 80 percent.
State labor rules for Iowa children in the workplace would be relaxed in a way that conflicts with federal workforce regulations under legislation awaiting Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature, the federal labor department wrote in a letter published Wednesday by Iowa Statehouse Democrats.
Statehouse Republicans pushed back, saying some of the information in the letter is outdated because of changes made to the proposal during the legislative process, and because of what they say is a misinterpretation of the bill.
The letter from the U.S. Department of Labor, dated May 10, is a response to an inquiry letter sent March 14 by multiple Democrats in the Iowa Legislature.
In the letter, the federal labor department says that Senate File 542, called the youth employment bill by its supporters and child labor bill by its opponents, has at least four provisions would create labor standards for Iowa children that are lower than federal standards. Any employer that allowed to Iowa children to work under those contrary terms contained in the state legislation would then be in violation of federal regulations.
The proposal was approved with only Republican support in the Iowa Legislature.
Reynolds has not yet taken action on the bill. Her office did not say Wednesday whether she will sign the legislation into law, only that she has until June 2 to do so.
Two people who died early Sunday morning in a crash on Williams Boulevard in southwest Cedar Rapids have been identified.
Aja Dampier, 23, of Cedar Rapids, and John De Lapaz, 29, whose last known address was Cedar Rapids, died when their vehicle spun out of control and struck another vehicle, according to a news release from the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The crash occurred just before 3 a.m. in the 2100 block of Williams Boulevard SW.
Dampier was pronounced dead at the scene. De Lapaz was transported to a hospital, but died following treatment.
The three adult passengers in the Toyota SUV were all seriously injured and transported to a hospital, but a news release issued Sunday indicated their injuries were not believed to be fatal.
