Emily Andersen

Shots fire incidents skyrocketed in 2020 around the country, but those numbers have been dropping in Cedar Rapids in Iowa City and are now lower than pre-pandemic numbers in both cities. City and county officials say it could be a result of the violence intervention programs that have been active in both cities for the last few years, although it’s difficult to know exactly what causes the changes in statistics.

A Manchester woman is facing multiple charges related to a money laundering scheme that police say she was involved in, along with suspects in several other states, that resulted in the loss of more than $1 million.

Two people were arrested Friday on charges they broke into a garage in Cedar Rapids and stole an all-terrain vehicle and multiple power tools, totaling more than $10,000 worth of property.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report Thursday that a person was being held at gunpoint, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

A former employee of St. Matthew Catholic School was arrested Wednesday on a charge of indecent contact with a child.

If Pascual Pedro, a 20-year-old man who lived in West Liberty for seven years before he was deported at the beginning of July, could speak directly with elected officials in Iowa, all he would ask them for is a chance, he said from Guatemala Wednesday.

Five new security cameras have been installed in downtown Cedar Rapids as part of the city’s public safety camera system. They aren’t yet fully operational, but are anticipated to go live by the end of the week.

Chants to “Bring back Pascual,” and “Let Noel go,” rang out through the heat Tuesday afternoon as Eastern Iowa community members marched toward the U.S. District Court building in Cedar Rapids to protest the deportation of West Liberty resident Pascual Pedro earlier this month and the detention of Muscatine resident Noel Lopez.

A plea for help made last week by a nonprofit grocery store in Cedar Rapids has sparked a large response from community members to support the store’s goal of providing food for a neighborhood that would be a food desert if not for its presence.

A Cedar Rapids woman was arrested Tuesday on charges that she stole almost $25,000 from her father, a dependent adult for whom she was caretaker.

Two Cedar Rapids men — one of whom was arrested last year on charges he stole copper and wiring from an industrial site — are facing charges after the theft of copper wire from Mercy Medical Center.

An Iowa County man has been arrested in relation to a crash in Linn County that left a Nebraska man dead. According to a criminal complaint, the crash happened when the Iowa driver passed the Nebraska driver in a no-passing zone while two cars were coming from the opposite direction.

The pilot instructed passengers over the intercom to stay in their seats and follow flight attendant instructions, and also asked any passengers who were willing and able to help the flight attendants subdue Nikprelaj.

A Marion man was arrested Saturday morning after police say he stabbed another man in the shoulder.

Iowa outpaces all other states with the highest number of bridges classified as being in poor condition, but the Iowa Department of Transportation’s work over the past 15 years to decrease the number of poor-rated bridges has led to big improvements for state-owned bridges.