President Donald Trump yesterday presented the nation’s highest civilian honor to Waterloo native Dan Gable, the renowned wrestler and coach who won a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Trump called Gable “the greatest wrestler, probably ever” in awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After winning three high school state titles for Waterloo West, Gable was a two-time NCAA champion wrestler at Iowa State University. Gable would go on to become the winningest coach in University of Iowa history, including 15 NCAA team titles. He noted he continues to improve as a person and work hard every day. Gable’s family was present for the Oval Office ceremony, as were Iowa’s two U.S. Senators, Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst.
No one was hurt when a construction vehicle caught on fire yesterday near Mount Vernon. It happened after 1 p.m. along U.S. Highway 30 just east of Iowa Highway 1. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said a pickup truck sustained mechanical engine failure and caught fire while heading east on Highway 30. The driver was a 37-year-old man from Clinton. The highway was shut down temporarily but the Mount Vernon and Lisbon fire departments were able to put the fire out.
A man has now been charged with attempted murder for shooting someone in the parking lot of the Lucas State Office Building, next to the State Capitol Building, Sunday afternoon. Court documents say 25-year-old Michael McKinney intentionally fired a gun at a vehicle driving through the parking lot following a confrontation. The female victim, a minor, suffered a gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Our coverage partners at TV8 in Des Moines spoke to witnesses who said a group of women were confronting those taking part in a pro-Trump rally at the capitol at the time. They also said a shot was fired after someone backed into a car. At this point, authorities are not confirming any connection between the shooting and rally…rather, a connection between a car being hit in the parking lot.
A correctional officer was treated in the hospital and later released after an inmate was accused of assaulting the officer on Sunday. According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, the officer was working in his normal post in a special needs unit when he was punched once in the face by an inmate. Investigators say the inmate was not hurt. Additional staff showed up to the unit moments later and were able to get the inmate under control. The officer was able to return to work later Sunday evening.
An iconic piece of the Cedar Rapids landscape will be accessible to the public for a special out-of-season stretch due to unseasonably warm weather this week. The Mount Trashmore Trails and Overlook will be open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday. The Linn County Solid Waste Agency says the facility will be open between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day. The Stumptown Trail at the facility will not be open, due to damage it sustained during the August derecho. The reception building has been repaired since the derecho, where visitors will be required to check-in and sign a waiver to gain access to the site. Masks will be required inside the building.
Collins Aerospace announced 65 workers will be laid off at its plants in Decorah and Bellevue, the second round of layoffs in Iowa in recent months…29 positions in Decorah, and 36 positions in Bellevue, will be cut effective January 2nd. The volume of daily U.S. airline passengers is still less than half of what it was in 2019, due to COVID-19. The latest round of layoffs comes after Collins Aerospace announced layoffs at the end of July…plus another 72 positions cut from the company’s Cedar Rapids plant at the beginning of September.
Hawkeye Community College says its spring semester will start one week later than scheduled, on Jan. 19, 2021, due to the coronavirus. The school is also canceling spring break, so the semester will end as scheduled on May 12, 2021. Lecture-based courses will be online for the first eight weeks of the semester. Career and technical programs and labs will be held in-person.
The Linn-Mar Community School District will return to hybrid instruction next week. From Dec. 14-22, students across the district will return to a schedule alternating between in-person and remote learning. The district cites the decline in COVID-19 numbers in Linn County and an increase in staffing as reasons to return to the hybrid system.
Authorities say a Newton woman was killed and four others were injured when a 17-year-old driver ran a stop sign Sunday afternoon in Warren County in central Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says a pickup truck driven by the teen ran a stop sign and hit a small sport utility vehicle. Investigators say 41-year-old Amanda Kay Core of Newton was in the SUV’s passenger seat and died at the scene. The driver of the SUV, 41-year-old Aaron Core of Indianola and two children, ages 5 and 15, were all taken to a nearby hospital, as was the 17-year-old driver of the truck.
Police in Des Moines are asking for the public’s help in identifying a pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run last month. Police say they have been unable to identify the man, who was not carrying ID when he was found critically injured in the street the night of Nov. 26. Police say he had been hit by a vehicle that then left the scene. The man later died from his injuries at a hospital, and a 22-year-old man suspected of being the hit-and-run driver was later arrested and charged in the case. Police say the victim was white, in his 60s, about 5-foot-8 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds.
