From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
A federal judge has ruled four people with ties to the University of Iowa must identify themselves or drop their lawsuit. Last month, three international students and a graduate filed a lawsuit, challenging ICE’s termination of their student statuses after they had their student visas cancelled. The lawsuit argues this is not grounds for revoking their student statuses. Their names haven’t been released, citing concerns for arrest, detention and removal. The judge gave the plaintiffs until 5 p.m. yesterday to identify themselves.
Today’s the first day you’ll need a Real ID but exceptions are being made. The head of Homeland Security says if you don’t have your Real ID, it will be more complicated to pass through screenings, but you can still fly. TSA also says they are working with departments of motor vehicles across the country to make sure hours are extended to help get everyone in compliance. Military IDs, passports also are still accepted as valid identification.
A non-profit Iowa City movie theatre is losing tens of thousands in funding after the Trump Administration started cancelling grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Last Friday, the executive director of FilmScene got an email informing him that $30,000 in NEA grant funding is ending, seven months earlier than planned. Theatre Cedar Rapids also receives federal funding to support its annual operations. TCR’s executive director says its plans are still up in the air. FilmScene says it has seen an influx of individual donations after announcing the NEA cuts. It’s expected those donations will be enough to help them stay afloat in the short term.
Iowa’s Republican Lieutenant Governor officially announced her campaign for State Auditor. Chris Cournoyer was appointed by Governor Kim Reynolds in December after serving in the Iowa Senate. Cournoyer says if elected, she would focus on nonpartisan transparency, efficiency and integrating AI in the auditing process.
A developer wants to rezone his Cedar Rapids residential property and transform a home into a new corner grocery store. The proposed grocery store would be in the heart of Wellington Heights, near the corner of 5th Avenue Southeast and 17th Street Southeast. The developer says it will fill a neighborhood void since the First Avenue Hy-Vee closed its doors last summer. The home actually has a history as a grocer—it was originally constructed in 1910, operating as the Idelwild Grocery Store.
