Gazette Daily News Podcast, April 15

On today’s episode: A Cedar Rapids man charged with second-degree murder was barred from carrying weapons, but continued to do so anyway, a Cedar Rapids man is facing numerous charges following a January wrong-way crash on Interstate 380, and the Amana Colonies is planning an agritourism venue.

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A Cedar Rapids man charged with second-degree murder in a fatal shooting at a downtown nightclub was barred from carrying weapons after drunkenly shooting a sawed-off shotgun in 2012 — but continued to do so anyway, court records show.

Timothy Ladell Rush, 32, is accused of fatally shooting Nicole Owens, 35, the mother of his child. Another person, Michael Valentine, 25, was also killed in the shooting, which took place early Sunday in the downtown Taboo Nightclub and Lounge. Police have not said who they think killed Valentine and have said they believe a second gunman was involved. But they have not announced any new arrests in the case.

Rush has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, willful injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, reckless use of a firearm and possession of a firearm as a felon. The charge of possession of a firearm as a felon refers to a previous felony conviction in 2012, when Rush was arrested after Cedar Rapids police responded to a shots-fired call and found Rush carrying a sawed-off 20 gauge shotgun, according to an arrest report.

Rush was arrested again in 2014, charged in federal court in Iowa with being a felon in possession of a firearm and being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison for that case, followed by three years of supervised release. He was released in 2018, but returned to prison multiple times for violations of his supervised release.

A Cedar Rapids man is facing numerous charges following a January wrong-way crash on Interstate 380, in an incident that came to the attention of police before the crash due to his erratic behavior at a school.

The crash left three people injured.

An arrest warrant was issued March 30 for Andrew Robert Cairy, 33. He was formally charged this month with serious injury by vehicle, a felony; leaving the scene of a serious injury accident, an aggravated misdemeanor; leaving the scene of a bodily injury accident, a serious misdemeanor; and public exposure, a simple misdemeanor.

Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks told The Gazette on Thursday the reason for the delay in charges was because the investigation needed to be completed. Police didn’t receive the toxicology tests until the middle of March and the case wasn’t referred to his office until March 26. The results of those tests didn’t support a drunken-driving charge.

The Amana Colonies, long known for family-style meals and Oktoberfest, is planning an agritourism venue that could include pick-your-own produce, tree houses, corncrib slides and a beer garden.

The agritourism site will be adjacent to the building that housed the Old Creamery Theatre Company until earlier this year, when the professional troupe closed because of financial challenges caused by the pandemic. The Amana Society is working to rejuvenate that theater before it becomes the Amana Performing Arts Center, which will reopen in May.

According to the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities’ bureau:

Expect a mostly sunny day in Cedar Rapids with a high temperature of 52 degrees and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. It will be 48 sunny Saturday before a chance of rain and snow showers Sunday morning with a high of 45. Don’t worry, little or or no snow accumulation is expected.

Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com