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Nearly 90 thousand Iowans spent their seventh night without power last night…half of those in Linn County. Gov. Kim Reynolds toured damage in Marion the day after last Monday’s storm, as well as locations in Cedar Rapids Friday before holding a news conference at the main fire station there. The scope of the damage is still being assessed. Cedar Rapids fire chief Greg Smith talked about the number of displaced residents at the Friday briefing. We’ll get an update on the power situation from Rod Pritchard of ITC Midwest during KXEL Live and Local today, the program begins at 9 a.m.
One person was transported to the hospital Saturday afternoon following a stabbing. It happened around 3:45 p.m., as police responded to a report of a stabbing in progress in the 400 block of Locust St. near downtown; that’s where they found the victim. No arrests have been made and the incident remains under investigation.
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One week ago today, the Iowa landscape was forever changed as a derecho storm with winds at more than 100 miles per hour ripped across Iowa, with tens of thousands along U.S. Highway 30 still without power this morning. Travis Thomas is MidAmerican Energy’s gas operations manager for Cedar Rapids and Iowa City; he talked at a news conference Friday about their response. Gov. Kim Reynolds also spoke at the midday briefing, and noted that Cedar Rapids was not the only city taking a direct hit; Marshalltown also suffered extensive damage, barely two years after an EF-3 tornado struck there.
A shooting late Saturday night on the east side of Waterloo is being called a homicide. Authorities responded just after 11:30 p.m. to the 500 block of Adrian Street and found that a 49-year-old male had been shot. He was transported to Allen Hospital where he later died. An autopsy will be conducted at the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny.
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It’s been a week since the derecho struck Iowa, with Cedar Rapids suffering the worst damage. City officials there initially did not believe help from the National Guard was needed, but ultimately reached out to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office for help. Gov. Reynolds toured damage in Cedar Rapids Friday, along with the head of the state National Guard, and city Mayor Brad Hart. Alliant Energy officials say they still believe they’ll have power restored to virtually all of the city by tomorrow night. We’ll get an update on the power situation from Rod Pritchard of ITC Midwest during KXEL Live and Local today, the program begins at 9 a.m.
Waterloo firefighters rescued two tree workers from a boom truck Saturday afternoon. The crew was working in the 1100 block of Mitchell Avenue around 4 o’clock when a branch they were cutting landed on the bucket’s emergency shutoff, leaving them trapped. Firefighters used a ladder to reach the workers and escorted them down safely with no injuries reported.
