Gazette Daily News Podcast, December 8

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon Alexa enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?

If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes or wherever else you find your Podcasts.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, December 8.

It will be cold again Wednesday, but at least the sun will make an appearance. According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny Wednesday in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 32 degrees. The temperature will start to rise slightly overnight Wednesday into Thursday, but that will also come with a chance of some light snow Thursday morning.

A Cedar Rapids man who was convicted of murder in 2018 has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge for the same crime after his initial conviction was overturned on appeal due to improper jury instructions.

33-year-old Quarzone Martin entered a guilty plea in late November for killing of Andrew Meeks, 26, and injuring another man during a drug deal involving Xanax pills in 2017. Martin claimed he shot the men in self defense during his original trial.

Martin pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, willful injury causing serious injury and going armed with intent. At his sentencing Tuesday, the prosecution and defense agreed to ask 6th Judicial District Senior Judge Patrick Grady to run all the sentences consecutively for 25 years in prison. Martin has served four years on the second-degree murder conviction and will be given credit on this new sentence.

In a 7-2 vote Tuesday, the Cedar Rapids City Council advanced proposed changes to a nuisance abatement policy that would crack down on absentee landlords who don’t show up for inspections or otherwise neglect their properties.

The vote came after several landlords spoke against the changes, largely for fear that a one-time failure to make an inspection or plow snow will land their properties on the list.

Among several proposed amendments to the ordinance outlining regulations for nuisance properties, is a change that would allow one “no show” trip, where a property owner fails to appear for an inspection scheduled by the city, to result in a nuisance property designation. The city currently allows for two “no show” trips before a property gets on the nuisance list.

The Building Services department imposes a “no show” fee on property owners who are habitually unresponsive and absent from inspections.

After flirting with the idea of running for a different office, most notably taking on incumbent Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand announced Monday that he will be running again for the auditor position.

Sand, a Democrat from Des Moines, was elected auditor in 2018, when he unseated the Republican incumbent. This year, he weighed a run for governor in 2022.

In a short video he posted online Tuesday, Sand said his office has worked over the past three years to save Iowa taxpayers’ money by working with local officials and operating with a staff of workers of all political stripes.

Are you a fan of trying new restaurants? Get the latest restaurant openings & closings and more chewy tips from The Gazette's Chew On this newsletter. Sign up at thegazette.com/chew