Gazette Daily News Podcast: May 11 and 12, 2024

– Authorities seek Iowa sex trafficking victim who killed alleged abuser

– Budget cuts, homelessness among topics in annual Linn County address

– Orchestra Iowa among area organizations receiving Inspire Iowa grants

– Consider taking the Daily News Podcast Survey

Episode Transcript

Welcome to the weekend edition of the Gazette Daily News Podcast. I’m Bailey Cichon.

First, authorities are looking for an Iowa sex trafficking victim who killed her alleged abuser. The Iowa Department of Corrections has issued a nationwide warrant for the arrest of 19-year-old Pieper Lewis. This comes after she had been removed from a treatment center in Atlanta and failed to attend probation meetings, according to reporting from the Associated Press. Lewis’ whereabouts haven’t been known since April 6.

Lewis faced a 20-year prison sentence for the fatal stabbing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks in June 2020. Lewis said she was trafficked to Brooks against her will and was forced to have sex with him multiple times when she was 15 years old. In September 2022, Lewis pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury and was sentenced to probation. After she later admitted to violating the terms of her probation, a judge sentenced her to probation again but said, quote “You’ve asked for a second chance. You don’t get a third.” end quote.

In November 2023, Lewis was taken to a residential program in Atlanta that helps victims of sexual exploitation. The arrest warrant says that Lewis was accused of repeatedly violating the center’s rules and was asked to leave in March. After that, she met with probation officials and was fitted with a GPS monitor. According to the warrant, she failed to attend meetings and allowed the monitor battery to go dead.

Next, Thursday’s State of Linn County address highlighted budget cuts and homelessness.

In her address, Linn County Board of Supervisors chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt explained that the Linn County budget had to be cut by more than $1 million to minimize a levy increase for the next budget year. This came after cutting $1.7 million from the budget last year after an error with the Iowa Department of Revenue. Facing tough budget decisions, the supervisors reached out to county employees to brainstorm ways to make better use of funds. This led to several ideas, including one from County Auditor Joel Miller on researching all of the land parcels owned by the county and looking for ways to sell or remove county liability for that land.

Another idea was using a federal grant to pay for updating three county buildings to maximize energy efficiency and reduce operational costs. And yet another suggestion introduced a fixed price natural gas purchasing program for the county facilities department.

The county also sold outdated equipment, consolidated leases, shared operations costs between departments and used vehicles for as long as possible, Running-Marquardt said.

On the topic of homelessness, Running-Marquardt said the Winter Overflow Homeless Shelter housed more people than in the past, with about 75 people.

The shelter is operated by staffers from Willis Dady Homeless Services. Linn County is working with the city of Cedar Rapids to integrate suggestions given last year by the National Alliance to End Homelessness after a visit to the city.

One suggestion was to create a homeless systems manager position jointly funded between Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

Running-Marquardt said quote, “Through this partnership, our community will have a homeless systems oversight board advisory committee that will oversee the entire system and bring the community together to better address homelessness.” end quote.

For a closer look at the state of the county address, read the full story by Emily Andersen using the link in this episode’s description. Or visit thegazette.com.

Next, Inspire Iowa grants are funding exciting performances and exhibits around the state. The program was launched by the Iowa Tourism Office and Iowa Arts Council to elevate Iowa as a cultural destination and promote tourism in the state.

Here are some area projects that received funding:

Orchestra Iowa’s plan to play the score of “Field of Dreams” during a movie screening at Veterans Memorial Stadium received funding from an Inspire Iowa grant. The movie tells the story of an Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield. The project is a collaboration between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Orchestra Iowa and it’s projected to cost $225,000. The grant will cover $80,000 of costs. The movie score has been reworked and arranged for a full symphony orchestra. The film will play on the Jumbotron while the symphony performs on the field. Tickets for the event go on sale July 22. Series tickets are available at the Orchestra Iowa Ticket office.

We mentioned this next exhibit in yesterday’s daily news podcast episode but in case you missed it: the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library received a $30,000 grant from Inspire Iowa to go towards hosting the traveling Alphonse Mucha exhibit. The project cost is $87,000. The museum is one of three locations in the U.S. selected for the national tour of “Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau”. It’s also the only Midwestern venue. Patrons can view the work of the Czech artist through Sept. 1.

Finally, an exhibit highlighting the work of Walter Wick, who is best known for the “I Spy” series is coming to Figge Art Museum in Davenport. The museum received $35,000 towards its $103,000 project. The museum is the only Midwestern venue hosting the traveling “Walter Wick: Hidden Wonders” exhibit. It will be on view July 6 to Nov. 17.

Want to read further? Find a link to today’s featured stories in this episode’s description. As always, you can find a full transcript of this episode at thegazette.com.

Now let’s take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids. Saturday will be sunny with a high of 73 degrees and a low of 49 degrees. Sunday will be partly cloudy with a high of 84 degrees. Rain is in the forecast for Monday. Anticipate a high of 69 degrees.

Thank you for listening to the Gazette Daily News Podcast. Stay updated with the latest Eastern Iowa news at thegazette.com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com