CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -Supply chain issues are forcing the Marion Police Department to make changes to its newest fleet of squad cars. The Department has always had blue police cars. That’s not going to be the case for new vehicles the department gets for the foreseeable future. Some may remember when Marion officers drove blue Ford Crown Victoria’s in the 1990′s. Since then they’ve moved on to blue Ford Explorer SUV’s. Officer Tom Daubs says blue has always been the department’s traditional color for its vehicles. The department typically switches out its cars about every four years. Right now supply chain issues mean they’ll be switching to black. ”It is really, really, really hard to get navy blue police cars now so we’ve started to switch over to black and I imagine the next couple of cars will be black as well just because it’s easier to get,” Daubs explained. Officer Daubs drives a white SUV marked for a school police officer since he is the School Resource Officer at Linn-Mar. He says even getting the black vehicles can take more than a year.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – People will be able to stock up on compost for free in October. The Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency announced it will be giving away compost for free all month long while supplies last. The Solid Waste Agency said its compost is nutrient rich soil amendment that is great for lawns, gardens and stormwater management. The agency said it’s also not putting a limit on how much customers can take, but it’s not taking rain checks. Wood chips will also be available for no charge. The free compost will only be available at the agency’s location at 2250 A Street SW in Cedar Rapids during the month of October. That location will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge in Iowa has struck down the third attempt in recent years by the Iowa Legislature to stop animal welfare groups from secretly filming livestock abuse, finding once gain that the law passed last year violates free speech rights in the U.S. Constitution. The decision Monday rejected the law approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April 2021 that makes it a crime to trespass on a property to place a camera to record or transmit images. The law made the first offense punishable by up to two years in prison and subsequent offenses a felony. The case is one of many so-called ag-gag laws that have surfaced in the U.S. in recent years that pit the right of farmers to protect their property from trespassers against animal welfare advocates.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who admitted to taking part in the assault of a police officer as part of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday after the judge called him one of the most serious offenders on that day. Judge Amy Berman Jackson called Kyle Young a “one man wrecking ball” as she sentenced him to prison. She gave him credit for the 17 months he’s been held since his arrest, meaning he likely will serve nearly six years in prison. Young cried as he apologized to D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone and said he wished he could take back his actions of that day.
