CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A committee tasked with guiding the Cedar Rapids School Board through consolidation plans recommended the board move forward with a boundary plan that would close seven schools and convert three others into 5th and 6th-grade buildings. The Strategic Planning Executive Committee recommended “Scenario Two,” which would turn Franklin, Roosevelt, and Viola Gibson into 5th and 6th-grade schools. The plan would close Wright, CRA at Taylor, Cleveland, Grant, and Nixon elementary schools, as well as Truman Preschool. The committee is made up of school leaders, a school board member, and community members. The plan would create a feeder program in which students who start preschool together would graduate high school together. The committee’s recommendation addresses socio-economic impacts, utilization of buildings, and proximity to parents. The board previously asked for another option to better address proximity. The committee said this option is the best answer available due to a lack of schools on the north side of town. “With every adjustment, it created other obstacles for us, and so the team landed back on scenario two,” said Dr. Tawana Lannin, CRCSD superintendent. The board also discussed allowing students to continue staying in their current school building through a permit request process. However, not all of those requests will be fulfilled. The School Board did not vote on the recommendation. A vote is expected to take place on April 27.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A public meeting will be held Tuesday on the possible reopening of the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant. In October, NextEra partnered with Google to restart the plant to power data center operations. A panel with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold an open house Tuesday. People will have the chance to hear a presentation on the project and ask questions. The meeting starts at 5:00 p.m. in the Whipple Auditorium at the Cedar Rapids Library.
BENTON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – One person is dead after a crash Monday night on Highway 151 in Benton County. The crash took place around 5:06 p.m. at County Road F12 and County Road E66, one mile south of the Walford area. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 33-year-old George Martin, of Norway, was heading north on the highway when he crossed the center line and hit a semi in the southbound lanes. Martin died in the crash. Highway 151 remained blocked in both directions in the area as of 9:36 p.m. but was back open Tuesday morning.
WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – A Waterloo woman was sentenced to life in prison Monday in the 2023 death of her mother. A jury convicted Sarah Nagy Brown of first-degree murder in February. A criminal complaint says she stabbed her mother, Roberta Nagy, to death in May 2023. Authorities were called to 217-D Fereday Court at around 8:00 p.m. on May 21, 2023, for an unresponsive woman. Police said they attempted to save the woman’s life but noticed several stab wounds to her neck. Brown claimed that Roberta stabbed herself in the throat multiple times before attempting to strangle herself with a phone charging cord, police said. Authorities said Brown called 911, saying Roberta was unconscious and without a pulse, and that Roberta had a history of medical conditions. She was taken to the hospital, where she later died. Monday in court, Brown said the jury never got to hear her side because she had inadequate defense. The judge and Brown’s defense attorneys talked about how she had a horrific childhood and went in and out of foster care. The judge said she hopes Brown uses her time in prison to rehabilitate and help others. Brown was sentenced to life in prison and must pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim’s estate. Life in prison is the maximum sentence someone can get for a first-degree murder conviction.
