WATERLOO POLICE HAVE TAKEN A MAN INTO CUSTODY FOR AN EARLY DECEMBER SHOOTING. QUINTOREY KEMP ALLEGEDLY FIRED AS MANY AS TEN SHOTS FROM ONE VEHICLE AT THE OCCUPANTS OF ANOTHER. ONE VICTIM IN THE INCIDENT WAS WOUNDED AND HAD TO BE TRANSPORTED BY HELICOPTER TO UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HEALTH CENTER. THE VEHICLE FROM WHICH THE SHOTS WERE FIRED WAS FOUND ON PROPERTY ASSOCIATED WITH KEMP. THE ALLEGED SHOOTER WAS HIMSELF A VICTIM OF GUN VIOLENCE IN 2019.
FUNDING FOR AN EXPANSION OF BROADBAND INTERNET WAS A POLICY PRIORITY IN GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS CONDITION OF THE STATE SPEECH THIS WEEK. REYNOLDS SET A TARGET OF 450 MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE EFFORT. OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 TALKED WITH CHUCK DEISBECK, CEO OF NORTH LIBERTY-BASED INTERNET PROVIDER SOUTH SLOPE. DEISBECK SAYS HE HOPES THE BROADBAND LEGISLATION IS WELL-CRAFTED, TO ENSURE THAT THE STATE’S INVESTMENT CONTINUES TO PROVIDE VALUE EVEN AS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES. SHOULD LEGISLATION FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET PASS THROUGH THE STATE HOUSE’S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE, THAT GROUP INCLUDES BLACK HAWK COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES DAVE WILLIAMS AND RAS SMITH.
WINTER WEATHER IN EASTERN IOWA TODAY…BUT WEST OF INTERSTATE 35, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS EXPECTING A BLIZZARD. WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MILES PER HOUR PLUS FOUR TO NINE INCHES OF SNOW THERE WILL LEAD TO NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TRAVEL CONDITIONS TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY.
WATERLOO POLICE CHIEF JOEL FITZGERALD CAME TO THE CITY LAST SUMMER WITH LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE IN MUCH BIGGER COMMUNITIES. NOW CITIES LIKE MIAMI AND ALBUQUERQUE HAVE BEEN SIZING UP WHETHER FITZGERALD MIGHT BE THE RIGHT FIT TO LEAD THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENTS. WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART TALKED ABOUT THAT SITUATION RECENTLY WITH KXEL. LAST SUMMER, THE WATERLOO POLICE “USE OF FORCE” AND CAMERA POLICIES WAS MODERNIZED DURING THE WEEKS AFTER FITZGERALD ARRIVED. THE DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO UPDATED ITS WEBSITE AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING A NEW LOGO.
THE STATE’S DRIVE-THRU COVID-19 TESTING LOCATIONS WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY. TEST IOWA SITES, AS WELL AS THE STATE HYGIENIC LAB, WILL BE IDLED FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY. THE FIVE DRIVE-THRU LOCATIONS INCLUDE SITES IN CEDAR RAPIDS AND WATERLOO, PLUS DES MOINES, DAVENPORT, AND COUNCIL BLUFFS. THEY WILL RETURN TO REGULAR OPERATING HOURS ON TUESDAY. APPOINTMENTS AND OTHER DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE FROM TESTIOWA.COM.
THE MICHIGAN STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM HAS NEW ACTIVE COVID-19 CASES. THAT MEANS THE SPARTANS WILL NOT BE IN IOWA CITY TONIGHT. THE IOWA-MICHIGAN STATE GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED. THE 11-2 HAWKEYE MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM WILL NOW WAIT UNTIL SUNDAY FOR THEIR NEXT GAME WHEN THEY TRAVEL TO NORTHWESTERN. NO RESCHEDULE DATE FOR THE MATCHUP WITH THE SPARTANS HAS BEEN SET; IOWA IS SLATED TO VISIT MICHIGAN STATE ON FEBRUARY 13TH.
IT IS BUDGET SEASON FOR CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS. IN WATERLOO, ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF COUNCIL INPUT IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE BUDGETING PROCESS. THAT DIDN’T WORK AS INTENDED DURING AN INFORMATIONAL SESSION EARLIER THIS WEEK. WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART TALKED ABOUT THE VIRTUAL GATHERING, WHICH SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS INDICATED WAS NOT WHAT THEY EXPECTED. CITY OFFICIALS HOPE TO LOOK AT A DRAFT OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET BY THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY.
CEDAR FALLS IS GETTING CLOSER TO HAVING A COOPERATIVE GROCERY STORE. THE SITE FOR “ROOTED CARROT” CO-OP MARKET IS JUST SOUTH OF THE MAIN STREET PARKADE, WHERE MAIN MEETS 7TH. A 25 THOUSAND DOLLAR GRANT FROM THE LEIGHTY FAMILY FUND WILL BOOST THE EFFORT, ALTHOUGH ORGANIZERS SAY THEY ARE TRYING TO RAISE A TOTAL OF 2.8 MILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD AND OPERATE THE STORE. A TENTATIVE OPENING DATE IS TARGETED FOR THE SUMMER OF 2022. WITHOUT A STORE, ROOTED CARROT HAS LINKED LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS TO CUSTOMERS SINCE 2014.
A MARION LANDMARK IS RECEIVING MONEY THAT WILL GO TOWARD REPAIRING DAMAGE FROM THIS SUMMER’S DERECHO. THE HISTORIC TRAIN DEPOT IN CITY SQUARE PARK WAS ONE OF MANY BUILDINGS WHICH WAS IMPACTED BY THE STORM. MORE THAN 72 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN INSURANCE MONEY HAS BEEN APPROVED. MARION CITY OFFICIALS SAY THEY HOPE RESTORATION EFFORTS CAN BE WRAPPED UP BY THIS SUMMER. THE BUILDING IS USED FOR A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY FUNCTIONS.
