From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
Authorities have made an arrest in a cold case linked to a newborn found in the city landfill in 1992. Now, 33 years later, investigators identified Cindy Elder as the baby’s mother. She was arrested in Missouri, where she lives now, and charged with first degree murder. Sanitation workers found the body of a newborn in the Iowa City landfill on December 21, 1992. Investigators reopened the case in 2020 because of new advancements in DNA technology. DNA from the baby led to Cindy Elder, who investigators say was 26 when she delivered Baby John Doe.
With the announcement of the cold case arrest, Iowa City police remind everyone about Iowa’s Safe Haven Law. This allows parents to surrender babies who are up to 90 days old. This can be done anonymously and without fear of prosecution.
An Iowa City homeless shelter is shutting down an encampment of nearly a dozen tents this week. According to a sign posted near the camp Monday, the individuals must clear the area ahead of the city inspecting Shelter House’s property, or else the emergency shelter building would be shut down, with 70 additional people having nowhere to go. All personal property must be out by 5:00 in the evening on Friday, but people at the site say there’s a lot of uncertainty about what comes next.
Firefighters battled a large brush and tree debris fire in southwest Cedar Rapids yesterday. The fire broke out in an area off of Edgewood Road Southwest and south of Highway 30. The city has been using the area as a place to shred trees and make compost. The cause of the fire is under investigation. No one was hurt.
It’s official—a $117 million bond referendum that would upgrade several schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District will be on the ballot November 4. The school board approved a resolution ordering the election after a petition received nearly 6,200 signatures. If it passes, it will cost the owner of a $200,000 home around $7.47 more a month.
