CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Cedar Rapids Community School District says it has fixed both domes at Taft Middle School. The district closed domes at Taft and Harding Middle School after inspectors discovered major signs of deterioration in the support beams in October. Taft had portable classrooms set up to accommodate students after the closure of the domes. Crews worked to install metal plates to reinforce the dome’s support beams, and the domes have now reopened. Crews are still working on the domes at Harding Middle School, but expect the work will be done by the end of next week. The closures affected the gym, cafeteria, and performing arts classrooms.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The city of Iowa City has agreed to pay $925,000 to settle a lawsuit with a former firefighter. The Iowa City city council approved the settlement during a meeting on Tuesday night. Under the agreement, the city will pay $500,000 and the city’s insurance provider will pay the remaining costs. The city’s payment will be taken from the Risk Management Fund. Sadie McDowell filed the lawsuit against the city on August 3, 2022, alleging employment discrimination. McDowell listed a multitude of allegations regarding sexist, sexual, and racist comments and actions from members of the Fire Department. She said her complaints about these incidents resulted in no change from the department leaders and led to her being passed over for promotion. In 2022 after the lawsuit was filed, the city released a statement denying the allegations. The settlement agreement does not constitute an admission of liability.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Cedar Rapids police say one adult and three juveniles were taken for medical evaluation following a house fire early Wednesday morning. The fire happened just before 3 a.m. in the 900 block of 10th Street SE. The Cedar Rapids Fire Department says crews arrived to find smoke coming from the first floor of the home. A small fire could be seen in the window. Inside the home, firefighters found smoke on the first and second levels. Crews rescued an adult and three children from the second floor. All four people were taken to Mercy Medical Center. Two cats were also rescued from the home, but two other cats died. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
ANAMOSA, Iowa (KCRG) – The newspaper serving Anamosa and Jones County will not shut down, as was announced last week. The day after they made the initial announcement, a new owner stepped in to keep the Anamosa Journal-Eureka operating. Anamosa City Administrator Jeremiah Hoyt says something positive could now happen as the new owner says he’s going to take over the 167-year-old newspaper. Nelson Media Company bought the Anamosa Journal-Eureka on Friday. Chris Nelson, the President and CEO of the company, says they not only bought the publication to help keep media in a smaller town, but also because of the paper’s legacy. “How cool of a newspaper that we get to own that predates the Civil War. I think about how cool that Abraham Lincoln was still around when this newspaper was open. I mean, there’s just so many things that’s happened throughout American history that has happened since the very first publication of this newspaper,” said Nelson. He says mostly everything will stay the same–that includes keeping the staff together and turning out a 12 to 16-page publication weekly. “This community needs this newspaper,” said Nelson. “This is why I got into the newspaper business because small communities are kind of left off the map when it comes to bigger conglomerates.”
