Wednesday Morning Read: Cost of Sinclair reclamation grows; some city officials want input on school plan; up to 1,000 animals removed from Vinton home

TODAY'S WEATHER — Mostly sunny. High 24, low 14.

COST OF SINCLAIR RECLAMATION GROWS — The cost of cleaning up the site of the old Sinclair meatpacking plant, damaged by floodwaters and then fire, keeps growing. Last week, the Cedar Rapids City Council quietly approved a change order for D.W. Zinser of Walford that increased the cost of an asbestos remediation project undertaken last year to $2.85 million, up 36 percent from the originally contracted $2.09 million. This brings the total tab for cleaning up the site Cedar Rapids acquired a decade ago to more than $20 million. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/government-politics/cost-of-sinclair-reclamation-grows/

SOME CITY OFFICIALS WANT INPUT ON SCHOOL PLAN — The city needs to have a more active role in a proposal before the Cedar Rapids school board to close eight elementary schools and rebuild or renovate the 13 others, some City Council members say. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/education/some-cedar-rapids-city-council-members-want-bigger-role-for-city-in-school-plan/

UP TO 1,000 ANIMALS REMOVED FROM VINTON HOME — Animal rescue organizations are rushing to offer assistance as the Vinton Police Department investigates what appears to be a massive animal hoarding situation. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/500-to-1000-animals-living-among-dead-animals-and-fecal-matter-rescued-from-vinton-residence/

IOWA STICKING WITH 11 IN ROTATION — Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery has been consistent. Whether it was during the first losing streak this season, the subsequent winning streak or the most recent losing streak, McCaffery has made it clear his rotation will remain as deep as it's been. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/hawkeye-basketball/iowa-basketball-rotation-staying-steady-at-11/

QUOTABLE — 'They say it's time to get tough on poor siting of hog confinements, including those being built in environmentally sensitive areas, and locating CAFOs where the smell and sound of someone else's money is in your bedroom every night.' Ocheyedan independent Sen. David Johnson, on measures he's introduced to increase regulation and halt construction of large-scale livestock projects. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/news/iowans-seek-to-halt-large-scale-livestock-buildings/