THIS MONTH WILL MARK THREE YEARS SINCE THE FATAL SHOOTING OF SHAVONDES MARTIN IN WATERLOO. ON TUESDAY, RAYMOND BIRDEN JR. WAS CONVICTED OF MURDER IN THE CASE. PROSECUTORS CLAIMED BIRDEN KILLED MARTIN IN RETALIATION FOR A 2016 SHOOTING THAT HAD RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF BIRDEN’S BROTHER. EVIDENCE IN THE TRIAL INCLUDED HOSTILE SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES BETWEEN BIRDEN AND MARTIN PRIOR TO MARTIN’S DEATH. TUESDAY’S VERDICT IS EXPECTED TO LEAD TO A LIFE SENTENCE AGAINST BIRDEN.
NEARLY FOUR DOZEN WORKERS AT THE DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER IN PALO WILL NOT BE REPLACED AS THEY LEAVE THEIR JOBS. NEXT-ERA ENERGY IS PLANNING THE STAFF REDUCTIONS BY ATTRITION AS MANY EMPLOYEES RETIRE. A PLAN TO TAKE THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OFFLINE WAS ACCELERATED BY THE SEVERE DERECHO WHICH DAMAGED THE FACILITY LAST AUGUST. HOWEVER, WORKERS WILL STILL BE NEEDED AT DUANE ARNOLD FOR SEVERAL YEARS AHEAD DURING THE DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS.
SOME INDUSTRIAL JOBS STILL HAVE A REPUTATION OF BEING UNPLEASANT. RECENTLY, A SURVEY BY FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY WALLET-HUB RATED WELDING AMONG THE WORST JOBS OUT THERE. IOWA ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY PRESIDENT MIKE RALSTON TOOK EXCEPTION WITH THAT CHARACTERIZATION OF THE NATURE – AND FUTURE – OF INDUSTRIAL WORK. RALSTON WAS A GUEST THIS WEEK DURING THE KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL PROGRAM, NOTING THAT MANUFACTURING IS CLEANER AND MORE EFFICIENT THAN WIDELY PERCEIVED.
A MAN CONVICTED OF A 1976 ROBBERY WHICH TURNED INTO A FATAL CONFRONTATION WILL REMAIN IN PRISON. DNA TESTING ON A HAT WORN BY THE PRESUMED KILLER FAILED TO EXONERATE GENTRIC HICKS, WHO MAINTAINS HIS INNOCENCE. THE FINDING IS INCONCLUSIVE AND DOES NOT RULE OUT HICKS’ LATE HALF BROTHER, WHOM A KEY WITNESS INITIALLY IDENTIFIED AS THE KILLER. AUTHORITIES DO NOT HAVE THE HALF BROTHER’S DNA ON FILE. HICKS IS SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE AT THE ANAMOSA STATE PENITENTIARY. THE FINDING IS A SETBACK FOR LAWYERS HOPING TO OVERTURN AN IOWA CONVICTION BASED ON DNA EVIDENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME.
TUESDAY WAS A GREAT DAY FOR BASEBALL. AFTER THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC SILENCED VETERANS MEMORIAL STADIUM LAST SUMMER AND THE AUGUST DERECHO CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE BALL PARK, THE CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS RETURNED TO BLANK THE PEORIA CHIEFS 7-0 ON OPENING DAY. BEFORE THE PLAYERS ARRIVED, KERNELS CEO DOUG NELSON TALKED ABOUT THE LONG-AWAITED GAME. CEDAR RAPIDS AND PEORIA MEET AGAIN THIS EVENING AT 6:30.
IT’S LIKE A CENSUS FOR WEATHER. EVERY TEN YEARS, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPDATES THE MEASURES CONSIDERED NORMAL FOR TEMPERATURE, RAIN, AND SNOWFALL. IN WATERLOO, AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE UP ABOUT ONE DEGREE FROM 1991 TO 2020, COMPARED WITH THE 30 YEARS FROM 1981 TO 2010. WATERLOO ALSO SAW NEARLY 1.7 INCHES OF ADDITIONAL ANNUAL PRECIPITATION, WITH JUNE REPRESENTING ALMOST HALF OF THE INCREASE BETWEEN THE TWO PERIODS.
A CONTRACTOR SURVIVED SERIOUS INJURIES WHILE WORKING ON A CEDAR RAPIDS COMMERCIAL BUILDING TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED IN THE 3100 BLOCK OF 16TH AVENUE SOUTHWEST AROUND 3 O’CLOCK YESTERDAY. THE INJURED MAN WAS NOT PUBLICLY IDENTIFIED; FIRST RESPONDERS SAY HE RECEIVED A SEVERE ELECTRIC SHOCK, BELIEVED TO HAVE ORIGINATED WHEN MATERIALS HE WAS WORKING WITH TOUCHED A LIVE ELECTRICAL LINE. EMERGENCY RESPONDERS FOUND THE MAN UNCONSCIOUS BUT USED A DEFIBRILLATOR TO HELP STABILIZE HIS CONDITION.
AS WORKERS HAVE THEIR PICK OF JOBS IN THE CURRENTLY TIGHT LABOR MARKET, MANUFACTURING ADVOCATES ARE TOUTING FACTORY EMPLOYMENT. MIKE RALSTON IS PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY; HE WAS A GUEST THIS WEEK DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL AND TALKED ABOUT WHAT CURRENT MANUFACTURING JOBS LOOK LIKE. RALSTON SAYS ABI MEMBERS ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING IN THE STATE. HEAR MORE OF HIS COMMENTS DURING NEXT HOUR’S KXEL NEWSCAST.
THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES SAYS A HARDIN COUNTY CAMPGROUND IS OPEN ONCE AGAIN. CAMPERS HAVE RETURNED TO PINE LAKE STATE PARK THIS WEEK. THE RENOVATED GROUNDS HAD BEEN CLOSED TO OVERNIGHT VISITORS SINCE LAST AUGUST. THERE ARE NOW FEWER SPACES IN THE PARK BUT EACH OF THE 76 REMAINING SPOTS GIVES CAMPERS MORE ROOM.
