GIFT CARDS STOLEN FROM A CEDAR RAPIDS SALVATION ARMY OFFICE HAVE LED TO CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST A MAN AND WOMAN FROM MARION. MATTHEW CRONIN WAS EMPLOYED BY THE SALVATION ARMY WHEN MORE THAN 26 THOUSAND DOLLARS OF WAL-MART GIFT CARDS WERE STOLEN LAST FALL. CRONIN AND HIS WIFE, JENNIFER, WERE ARRESTED THIS WEEK.
DRIVERS GO THE WRONG DIRECTION ONTO A HIGHWAY EXITS MORE COMMONLY THAN YOU MIGHT EXPECT. OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 SPOKE TO IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TRAFFIC AND SAFETY ENGINEER WILLY SORENSEN. THE DOT IS ADDING NEW “WRONG WAY” WARNINGS TO 165 INTERCHANGES THROUGHOUT IOWA. SELECT INTERSECTIONS WILL ALSO HAVE CAMERA SYSTEMS ALLOWING THE DOT TO LOOK AT SITUATIONS THAT LEAD TO WRONG-WAY DRIVING.
FESTIVITIES LIKE HOUBY DAYS BEGIN THIS EVENING IN CEDAR RAPIDS’ CZECH VILLAGE. THIS WILL BE LEAH JOHNSON’S FIRST YEAR OWNING A BUSINESS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DURING THE ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF CZECH CULTURE. JOHNSON WAS A GUEST THIS WEEK DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. MEANWHILE IN WATERLOO, THE SEASON’S FIRST FRIDAY LOO CONCERT IS SCHEDULED FOR TONIGHT IN LINCOLN PARK. A SPRING SIDEWALK SALE AND ARTWALK IS ALSO PLANNED FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW.
AT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, IOWA POLITICAL ENTHUSAISTS WILL LIKELY BE FOCUSSED ON THE STATE’S 2022 PRIMARY ELECTIONS. DEMOCRATIC AUDITOR ROB SAND ALREADY HOLDS A STATEWIDE OFFICE BUT HAS BEEN RUMORED TO BE THINKING ABOUT A DIFFERENT POST. SAND WAS A THURSDAY GUEST DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL AND TALKED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY HE MIGHT CHALLENGE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS. FIND THURSDAY’S FULL INTERVIEW WITH SAND AT KXEL.COM.
UPDATED GUIDANCE FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL MEANS THOSE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19 MAY BE DROPPING THEIR MASKS WHILE INDOORS. WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART SPOKE TO KXEL ABOUT THE CITY’S FACE COVERING REQUIREMENTS. WATERLOO HAS HAD AN INDOOR MASK MANDATE SINCE LAST SUMMER. THE CDC HAS INDICATED THAT FULLY INNOCULATED PEOPLE ARE SAFE WITHOUT MASKS IN MOST INDOOR SITUATIONS.
AN AGRICULTURAL SERVICES COMPANY IN WEST UNION WILL HAVE TO PAY THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES MORE THAN SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS. NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS WAS DETERMINED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR POLUTANTS LEAKED INTO A FAYETTE COUNTY WATERWAY.
A CAR WASH FIRE IN CEDAR RAPIDS LAST WEEK HAS BEEN DEEMED AN ACCIDENT. THE FIRE CAUSED SERIOUS DAMAGE LAST MONDAY AT BLUE LAGOON CAR WASH ON THE CITY’S SOUTHWEST SIDE. THE INCIDENT STARTED WHEN A VEHICLE INSIDE ONE OF THE FACILITY’S BAYS CAUGHT FIRE, WHICH THEN SPREAD OUT OF CONTROL. THE PRECISE REASON FOR THE CAR FIRE IS UNCLEAR. THERE WERE NO INJURIES.
IOWA AUDITOR ROB SAND MONITORS A VARIETY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS. HE TALKED ABOUT HOW HE VIEWS HIS ROLE THURSDAY DURING AN APPEARANCE ON KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. SAND WON HIS FIRST TERM AS STATE AUDITOR IN 2018. PREVIOUSLY, HE WORKED IN THE IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE. SAND HAS BEEN MENTIONED AS A CANDIDATE FOR OTHER STATEWIDE POSTS IN 2022, INCLUDING A POTENTIAL DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE IN THE RACE FOR GOVERNOR.
WATERLOO NATIVE CAL PETERSEN WILL REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES WHEN ICE HOCKEY’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BEGIN NEXT WEEKEND IN LATVIA. PETERSEN WAS NAMED TO THE U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM THURSDAY. IT IS THE SECOND TIME HE HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION. PETERSEN SPENT THIS HOCKEY SEASON AS A MEMBER OF THE NHL’S L.A. KINGS. AS A JUNIOR PLAYER, HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE WATERLOO BLACK HAWKS FOR PARTS OF THREE SEASONS.
