Gazette Daily News Podcast, December 19

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This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, December 19th.

According to the National Weather Service, we’ll have a 50 percent chance of snow, mainly after 1 p.m., in the Cedar Rapids area today. It will be cloudy, with a high near 29. Winds 5 to 10 mph from the southeast. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch is possible. And tonight, a chance of snow before 9 p.m., then freezing drizzle likely, possibly mixed with snow between 9 p.m. and midnight. And a low around 16.

Two people forced a man to undress at gunpoint in Marion, assaulted him and stole backpack items from him in September, according to a Linn County criminal complaint. 21-year-old Tavion Robinson of Waterloo, and a partially named co-defendant with the last name of Johnson, are accused of robbing the man while in the 1400 block of Meadowview Drive on Sept. 6. According to the complaint, Robinson pointed the gun at the man, put it in his mouth and threatened to shoot him, and Johnson punched the alleged victim as he undressed. Both Robinson and Johnson took items from the man's backpack that had a value between $1,500 and $10,000. Robinson has been arrested on charges of first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, going armed with intent, second-degree theft, first-degree harassment, and false imprisonment.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Ross Wilburn announced Saturday he will step down as leader of the party, after Democrats in the state faced a drubbing in the Nov. 8 midterm elections and a likely vote by national Democrats to strip Iowa of its first-in-the-nation caucus status it’s held for half a century. Wilburn, a state representative from Ames, was elected in January 2021 to lead the party as its first Black chair in facing a challenging midterm election and a battle to retain the Iowa caucuses. Wilburn replaced outgoing chair and former state Rep. Mark Smith, who decided not to seek a second term. Wilburn, in a statement, said his service to Iowans will continue as a state lawmaker, “but it is time to pass the torch.”

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🎹 Podcast music: “Dubstep” by Emily McGlothlen