From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled what she is calling a comprehensive education plan that calls for greater school choice. It’s the second time the Governor has pushed for a school voucher plan. It did not gain enough Republican support and failed in the last legislative session. Governor Reynolds is calling for the state to contribute $7,600 per student in savings accounts that will let families pick private schools for their children’s education. She says it will start with low income families and be phased-in to all families in three years.
Democrats are blasting the plan. Democrat Senate Leader Zach Wahls called it a Republican attack on public schools that will hurt small towns and de-fund public schools.
Jury selection is underway in the trial of a Cedar Rapids man accused of killing his family in their home. Police found the bodies of Jan Jackson, Melissa Jackson, and 19-year-old Sabrina Jackson inside their home in the 4400 block of Oak Leaf Court Northeast back in April of 2021. Each of them had gunshot wounds. At the time, Alexander Jackson told police an armed intruder came into his family’s home on Oak Leaf Court Northeast. Police found no signs of forced entry at the home and Jackson told police his father recently told him he had to get a job or move out. Testimony in Jackson’s trial will begin this week after a jury is selected.
Cedar Rapids is moving forward with plans to renovate a vacant office building into affordable housing. The Colonial Building is at 1500 2nd Avenue Southeast. Yesterday the city council unanimously approved moving forward with using three federal grants to fund turning it into 25 affordable housing units. The end goal is to turn the property over to a nonprofit to operate once the renovations are done. The project is expected to cost $4.6 million. Bids to do the work on the renovation are expected by January 24th.
The City Council is also moving forward with plans to create an urban dog park in Cedar Rapids. City leaders haven’t said where it would go, but say it will be somewhere near downtown. The city would use ARPA funding from the federal American Rescue Plan to create the park.
