UnityPoint Health-Cedar Rapids and Western Home Services in Cedar Falls are partnering to build a new, innovative memory care community in northeast Cedar Rapids. The new facility will deploy a specialized care model known as the “household model of care.” The facility will offer those with memory loss, dementia or Alzheimer’s, a secure, homelike setting with personalized care plans to improve quality of life through clinical care, cognitive engagement, and daily living activities. The model also creates a real community within a space so individuals recognize their surroundings as home. Western Home Communities owns and operates senior living communities around Iowa, and has a flagship campus in Cedar Falls where the cottage model originated.
An 18-year-old Waterloo woman was arrested early Sunday for punching a Black Hawk County Sheriff’s deputy who intervened when she tried to grab a cell phone. Kendra Denise Gibbs was charged with assault of a law officer following the incident at West Second Street and Sullivan Avenue shortly before 5 a.m. early Sunday. Deputies had stopped a vehicle matching the description of one potentially involved in an earlier shooting. Officials say Gibbs approached the vehicle on foot and tried to take a phone from inside it. When the deputy tried to intervene, she punched him in the head. She was arrested without further incident.
Iowa City officials are investigating the apparent firing of dozens of gunshots during the early morning hours yesterday. Shortly after 4 a.m., Iowa City Police were sent to a report of gunfire in the 500 block of South Scott Boulevard. Officers located more than 50 shell casings in the area, which they said likely means more than one weapon was used. Vehicles and buildings in the area were damaged by the shots, but no injuries were reported to police. No arrests have been made, but police believe the gunfire was likely targeted at someone or something.
Iowa gas prices have risen 2.6 cents per gallon in the past week alone, averaging $2.98 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of more than 2,000 stations in Iowa. Gas prices in our state are 12.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 88.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. Prices in Iowa range from a low of $2.68, up to a high of $3.49 per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.16 today.
Fire officials say a January home explosion in southeast Iowa that killed one person and injured another was caused when vapor from a gas leak was ignited when someone in the home lit a cigarette. Washington County fire officials have determined a gas leak filled a confined space in the home on Jan. 4 before the cigarette was lit. The explosion injured 68-year-old George Carpenter and another person in the home. Carpenter died three days later at a hospital from his injuries. Officials say they have not determined the source of the gas that led to the explosion.
The site where the flagship Younkers department store burned seven years ago in downtown Des Moines may soon become a park. EMC Insurance, owner of the lot, says it plans to develop a neighborhood park that will include sports courts, public artwork, flower beds and sitting areas. The company hopes the park will open next summer. The park must still receive approval from the city. The project also will include fixing and replacing sections of the skywalk near the site, and the addition of a new stair access from the skywalk to the park.
One last chance for you to see the historic Sloane Wallace Stadium in Waterloo before it is torn down. Waterloo schools is hosting an open hour and closing ceremony for today, from 5 to 7 p.m., including a program at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Demolition of the 99-year old stadium will begin soon and will be completed within a month.
