From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
Iowa is getting more than $57 million in federal money to help pay for improvements to Interstate 380. The grant application is designed to increase productivity and safety along the route. Under the plan, the airport interchange at Wright Brothers Boulevard will be turned into what’s called a “diverging diamond” interchange. And I-380 will be widened from 4 lanes to 6 lanes all the way to the Swisher-Shueyville exit. Work on the interchange is set to begin late next summer to early fall. The widening project would likely start in 2025 and last until 2027.
The suspect in the UNLV shooting has been identified as Anthony Polito–a professor who applied for a job but wasn’t hired. Polito was also a former University of Northern Iowa visiting instructor nearly 20 years ago. Police say he was armed with a handgun Wednesday before being killed in a shootout between two University police officers who responded to the attack. Investigators report the victims killed were not students but rather faculty or staff of the university.
Cedar Rapids Police now say a motorcyclist injured in a crash earlier this week was hurt after he failed to stop for officers after he crashed into a shuttle bus. 29-year-old Lewis McColley from Cedar Rapids was driving the motorcycle and not wearing a helmet at the time. He was seriously hurt and taken to UIHC where officials say he is in critical condition. No one was on the bus except for the driver and he was not hurt.
The top Republican candidates will square off for an Iowa debate just before January’s Iowa Caucuses. CNN will host the debate on January 10 at Drake University in Des Moines. That’s just five days before the Iowa Caucuses on January 15.
Cedar Rapids area mayors tried to out-ring each other yesterday during the annual Mayor’s Challenge Day for the Salvation Army. Linn County has an $850,000 Christmas campaign goal. Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell squared off against Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly and Hiawatha Mayor Bill Bennett. We’re still waiting for the results. The mayor who collects the most money earns the “Mayor’s Kettle” for the year.
