Gazette Daily News Podcast: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Update: An arrest has been made in the theft of extension cords in Cedar Rapids. Read that update here.

– How the Grinch stole Christmas — one power cord at a time

– Iowa Area Education Agencies face ‘comprehensive review’

– Satanic Temple display at Iowa State Capitol sparks free speech debate

You are listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast on Thursday, December 14, 2023. On this podcast, we give you quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon filling in for Stephen Schmidt.

Extension cord thefts in Cedar Rapids are leaving public holiday light displays dark. Cords have been stolen from downtown’s Greene Square park and at NewBo City Market. The first theft happened after lights were turned on Dec. 1 for the annual city tree lighting. Cords that lit trees around Greene Square were stolen. The Christmas tree in the park has not been touched. The Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance spent $300 to replace the cords, which were chained and zip tied. But the Grinch struck again and new cords were stolen along with a city-owned transformer used to illuminate the large snowflakes around the park.

Between Thursday and Friday last week, extension cords were stolen from two light displays at NewBo City Market. Another theft occurred between 6 and 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the parking lot next to the Paramount Theater on Third Avenue and First Street SE. 

Cedar Rapids Police Department has been investigating the thefts using security camera footage from areas near where the cords were stolen. Until the thief or thieves have been caught, Greene Square will remain dark.

Next up, changes may be coming to Iowa Area Education Agencies as Governor Kim Reynolds and legislative leaders say improvements must be made to support students with disabilities. Iowa Area Education Agencies are referred to as AEAs and there are nine across the state.

Recent Iowa test results show those with disabilities scored between 33 to 50 percentage points lower on statewide math tests than the overall student population. 

In a statement, Reynolds said that a comprehensive review of AEAs will help identify solutions and that children will continue to receive services.

Now, Iowa educators are worrying about the future of the agencies, which provide services from birth to age 21. 

Iowa Senator Ken Rozenboom of Pella is the chair of the Senate Education Committee. Rozenboom said quote, “My perception is that AEAs are administratively heavy and performance light,” he said. “We need to refocus and direct our efforts to providing education needs for the education of special needs children, which is extremely important.” end quote.

Grant Wood AEA chief administrator John Speer said about 70 percent of funding for Iowa’s AEAs goes to support special education services, but the agencies also were created to meet schools’ needs in media and technology and educational services including math, science and literacy. By law, AEAs can spend no more than 5 percent of their budget on administrative costs, Speer said. “Every AEA in Iowa is below that threshold,” he said.

Read the full story at thegazette.com. Find a link in this episode’s description. 

Now let’s head to news out of the Iowa State Capitol. The Satanic Temple of Iowa’s display at the capitol is sparking debate about free expression and religious freedom. Last week, the Satanic Temple of Iowa installed a statue of Baphomet, a goat-headed figure used to represent Satan.

Also in that display were the seven tenets of the Satanic Temple which the group said advocate for quote bodily autonomy, a rejection of arbitrary authority, recognizing our own fallibility, and inspiring nobility in the thought and action which we hope enlightens the viewer to our beliefs and inspires one to reflect upon their own approach to the world. End quote. The display will be up until Saturday.

The display has prompted calls for removal while others argue the display is religious expression protected by the First Amendment. Monday, the Temple issued a statement saying quote, we thank the staff of the Capitol, the Capitol Police and the Department of Administrative Services for holding fast to the principle of religious freedom and ensuring all religions have an equal opportunity to celebrate the holidays together in our beautiful Capitol end quote. 

On Tuesday, the conservative law firm Thomas More Society installed a Nativity scene in the Capitol that will be up for two weeks. That day, Governor Reynolds said in a statement that she disagrees with the Satanic Temple’s display but encourages opponents to engage in speech and prayer rather than remove the display. 

Find the full story by Caleb McCullough at the gazette.com.

Finally, a look at today’s weather on Thursday, December 14, 2023. Today will be partly cloudy with a high of 47 degrees and a low reaching 31 degrees. Friday will be cloudy. Temperatures will stay in the same range with a high of 46 degrees and a low of 36 degrees.

Thank you for listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast. I’m Bailey Cichon.