Gazette Daily News Podcast: Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Stories Featured
– Campaign Almanac: Trump’s commanding lead increases in latest Iowa Poll
– Cedar Rapids firefighters put out kitchen fire at Long John Silver’s
– Hawkeye Marching Band back in the halftime lineup after outcry
Episode Transcript
You are listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast on Wednesday, December 13, 2023. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon filling in for Stephen Schmidt.
Former President Donald Trump’s lead has grown according to the latest Iowa poll from The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom. Trump was the first choice of 51% of those surveyed. This brings Trump up eight percentage points from the October Iowa poll. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis polled at 19% and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley polled at 16% in the new Iowa poll. No other candidates received more than five percent. Both DeSantis and Haley have made recent campaign stops in Iowa to increase their support. This evening, Trump will speak at the Hyatt Regency in Coralville. The first-in-the-nation Iowa Republican caucuses will be held on January 15th. You can find the latest campaign and election news at thegazette.com/elections.
Williams Boulevard SW in Cedar Rapids was closed for about an hour Tuesday morning as firefighters responded to a kitchen fire at Long John Silver’s restaurant. Firefighters were called at 8:19 a.m. to the restaurant located at 2630 Williams Boulevard SW. Crews were able to extinguish the fire in the kitchen area. No one was injured and the building was empty. The building sustained fire, smoke and water damage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Marching bands will take the field for half time at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl after all. Plans to only feature Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw at halftime have been reversed following a petition led by Hawkeye fans. Both the Hawkeye Marching Band and University of Tennesse’s Pride of Southland band will perform on the field in Orlando before the New Year’s game and at halftime. Hawkeye Marching Band Director Eric Bush told The Gazette, quote, “We are thankful to the Citrus Bowl and Gavin DeGraw for working together to help showcase our bands which are not only an important part of the game day experience but also our university’s cultures and traditions.” end quote. Similar petitions have been assembled for the Cyclone Marching Band which is set to perform prior to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Memphis funk band Bar-Kays is set to perform at the halftime show. While the bands are focused on the upcoming bowl game performances, both the Hawkeye Marching Band and Cyclone Marching Band announced this week that they’re among five division I colleges named as finalists for Metallica’s marching band competition, which boasts a top prize worth $75,000.
Read the full story by Vanessa Miller at thegazette.com. You can find a link to that story in this episode’s description.
Finally, let’s take a look at today’s weather on Wednesday, December 13. If you’ve been waiting for snow, I have some bad news for you. Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 40 and a low of 22. Tomorrow, temperatures will rise to 45 degrees. Expect sunny skies. Thursday, temperatures will drop to a low of 26 degrees.
Thank you for listening to The Gazette’s Daily News podcast. I’m Bailey Cichon.
