WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – A collision involving three vehicles caused serious injuries to some of the people involved, according to law enforcement officials. At around 2:25 p.m. on Saturday, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office was sent to the intersection of U.S. Highway 218, locally known as La Porte Road, and Orange Road after a report of a crash. Deputies believe that a Pontiac van was stopped in the northbound lane, waiting to make a left turn onto Orange Road. A Chrysler van was also stopped behind them. A third vehicle, a Ram pickup truck, failed to stop while traveling northbound and crashed into the Chrysler. The force of the crash caused that van to crash into the Pontiac at the front of the chain. Two people in the Chrysler van were hurt and taken via ambulance to MercyOne hospital in Waterloo where they were in serious condition. Two more people in the same van were taken to the hospital but later released. Other passengers from other vehicles sustained minor injuries. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The new superintendent of Cedar Rapids Schools will start in April, about 3 months earlier than initially planned but exact financial details are unclear. The agenda for Monday’s meeting of the Cedar Rapids School Board includes an item to name Dr. Tawana Grover as the district’s interim superintendent. Also on the agenda is accepting the resignation of the current interim superintendent, Art Sathoff. Both items are on the consent agenda, meaning they are not slated to be debated or discussed at the meeting. The district said the agreements with both Grover and Sathoff would not be available until after the board vote on Monday. The board had previously hired Grover, approving a contract for her to start as superintendent in July at an annual salary of $305,000. Grover is able to start early because she had resigned mid-year from her previous job as superintendent of schools in Grand Island, Nebraska. She resigned from that position in December with an agreement for Grand Island to pay her for the rest of this school year and an additional $294,000 salary for next school year. Grover’s resignation came shortly after a PAC successfully ran a campaign to unseat three school board members there. Cedar Rapids superintendent search came about after the death of the previous superintendent, Noreen Bush, in October following a prolonged battle with cancer.
SHELDON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a suspect in an Iowa killing was arrested Friday outside a marijuana dispensary in South Dakota. Forty-one-year-old Nathanial Byron Kessel, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, is now awaiting extradition. He was taken into custody on the first-degree murder warrant after the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe police chief noticed a vehicle that Iowa officials were seeking at the Royal River Casino and Hotel. The police chief then alerted other agencies and Kessel was apprehended outside the Native Nations Cannabis Dispensary. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a news release that Kessel also is accused in the arrest warrant of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KCRG) – An eastern Iowa high school’s show choir will be coming home winners after a successful competition in Nashville. Linn-mar High School’s varsity show choir, 10th Street Edition, won the grand champion award at the 2023 Show Choir Nationals on Saturday afternoon. The team also earned awards for best vocals, best choreography, and best band. For individual recognition, Kyra Kanz was named the competition’s outstanding female soloist, Grant Galloway was named the outstanding male soloist, and Tejas Gururaja was recognized as the outstanding male performer.
