From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
One man is dead after an afternoon fire at a hotel in southwest Cedar Rapids. Emergency crews responded to the Rodeway Inn, located on 16th Avenue SW, late yesterday afternoon. Fire investigators say the fire was contained to one room where they found the victim.
Two people were hospitalized after a bus crashed while taking students from Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant to Des Moines for yesterday’s LGBTQ Day at the Capitol. The sheriff’s office says most of the other injuries from the accident on Highway 163 east of Des Moines are minor. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
More than $14 million in federal grants will go toward eight dangerous stretches of road in Iowa. Iowa transportation leaders say most of that–about $10 million–is going to improving 50 miles of roads in Fayette County. Other funding will go to the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization, which focuses on projects in the Cedar Rapids area. Another grant is supporting the East Central Inter-governmental Association for projects in Dubuque. Winneshiek County also received a grant through this program.
A new state audit found the city of Atkins wrongly spent or did not collect more than $100,000. It blames the issue on the former City Clerk taking advantage of a system with little oversight. The report also says the city’s policy giving utility discounts to elderly residents is against Iowa Code. That City Clerk was allowed to resign. The city says it is reviewing and will change its policies.
And it will be an historic night tomorrow night at the Alliant Powerhouse in downtown Cedar Rapids. The City’s first indoor semi-pro women’s soccer team is playing at home Friday night. The Iowa Raptors semi-pro women’s team is associated with the Premier Arena Soccer League. The Raptors take on the Cincinnati Sirens Friday at 7 p.m. The men’s team will then play Saturday, and they’re currently in first place.
