Gazette Daily News Podcast, December 29

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, December 29th.

There should be a chance for some more snow Wednesday, mostly in the late afternoon and evening. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high near 23 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area, so the snow will stick when it falls. There is a 40 percent chance of snow predicted after 3 p.m. and a 50 percent chance of snow before midnight.

Linn County and its sheriff’s office are paying a former deputy and his lawyers over half a million dollars to settle his assertions that fellow deputies belittled him for taking leave to help care for his newborn son.

Scott Becker initially filed a lawsuit against the county in January 2020 in Linn County District Court, but it was refiled in U.S. District Court in February 2020. In his suit, Becker said he took time under the Family Medical Leave Act to care for his child in 2018, but then faced harassment and retaliation from co-workers who didn’t want to fill in for him while he was out.

Under terms of the settlement, Becker will be paid $334,062 and Fiedler Law Firm in Des Moines will be paid $240,937, according to a document provided by the county

According to the Associated Press, the county attorney prosecuting the case of two Iowa teens charged with murder in the death of their high school Spanish teacher said in court documents they surveilled her pattern of life, ambushed her along her daily walk and dragged her into the woods, returning later to hide her body.

Those additional details of the death of Nohema Graber in early November were revealed in a Dec. 23 filing in the case of Jeremy Goodale, 16, of Fairfield. He is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder with classmate Willard Miller, also 16. Attorneys for both teens have asked a judge to move their case to juvenile court.

Hearings on the requests are scheduled for Jan. 27.

Authorities have confirmed earlier that Graber had suffered “inflicted trauma to the head," Her body was found concealed under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties at Chautauqua Park in Fairfield.

Finally, John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach who gained fame as a broadcaster whose enthusiastic calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Tuesday morning, the league said. He was 85.

The NFL said on Tuesday that Madden had died unexpectedly and did not detail a cause.

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