From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
Waterloo has elected a new mayor. City Council member Dave Boesen beat five term incumbent Quentin Hart with 54 percent of the vote after a special election. Boesen has been on the city council for six years and was with Waterloo Police and the Fire Rescue Department for a total of 34 years. The special election was called after no candidate reached 50 percent of the vote in the November general election. Steve Schmitt easily won in Waterloo’s first ward race with 61 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent John Chiles. And Tom Nagel won the Cedar Falls third ward race with 65 percent of the vote over incumbent Daryl Kruse.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says a new agreement with the Trump administration should make the state’s elections more secure, and some county auditors agree. The agreement gives Iowa and three other states access to federal voter registration data. The Iowa Attorney General’s office sued the Biden administration last year after the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office found 277 non-citizens had voted or were registered to vote. Linn County’s auditor says he has not seen a large issue with people who aren’t U.S. citizens voting, but says the agreement will gain voters’ trust.
One of the largest groups of immigrants to be called to the Cedar Rapids Homeland Security building for their annual check-ins resulted in no detainments yesterday. 56 immigrants arrived, including Albertina Domingo-Diaz, who moved to the United States three years ago from Guatemala. Her husband was deported three months ago, leaving her and their four children behind. The immigrant advocacy group Escucha mi Vos says more migrant check ins are scheduled for later today at the Cedar Rapids Homeland security offices.
The Iowa DOT says the state saw more than 200 crashes during this past weekend’s snow storm. Eight of those crashes involved snow plows. The wave of wrecks came as crews worked long hours to clear roads. Those dangerous conditions extended beyond plow operators to the tow crews who also worked along the snow-covered roads.
