Gazette Daily News Podcast, June 8

You could wake up to rainy skies Wednesday, but it won’t last all day. According to the National Weather Service the majority of the rain in the Cedar Rapids area should move out of the area by 1 p.m. After that it will be mostly sunny, with a high of 73 degrees. The low will be 53 degrees Wednesday night with mostly clear skies.

It was election night Tuesday and most races went as expected in Iowa, but there was a bit of a surprise in the U.S. Senate race.

Mike Franken, a U.S. Navy veteran from Sioux City, earned the Democratic nomination Tuesday in Iowa’s U.S. Senate campaign, handily beating former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids by 15 percentage points.

Franken, who was runner-up in the 2020 Democratic primary for another Iowa U.S. Senate seat, made his second attempt count. Finkenauer had been viewed as a bit of a favorite to win the race after she announced due to name recognition and ties to the national party.

With his victory, Franken earned the right to challenge longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in this fall’s Nov. 8 general election. Grassley, as expected, easily survived his own primary challenge Tuesday.

But that, of course, wasn't the only race Tuesday night. For more, check out our complete election night coverage on thegazette.com.

An Iowa City man who helped organize Black Lives Matter events pleaded guilty Tuesday to lesser charges after injuring police officers by shining laser light beams in their eyes during 2020 protests in Iowa City.

Matthew D.C. Bruce, 26, originally charged with six felony counts of assault on persons of certain occupations causing bodily injury, pleaded to two counts of assault causing bodily injury, which are serious misdemeanors, and three counts of assault, which are simple misdemeanors.

Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said the prosecution will ask a judge to sentence Bruce to 180 days in jail but suspend 150 days, leaving him with 30 days to serve.

Bruce was identified in multiple news reports as an organizer of the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement, a group that had organized protests in Des Moines following the death of George Floyd, 46, who was killed while in custody by former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin.

The Uptown Marion Market will use the new Seventh Avenue festival street when it returns on Saturday.

The market, which takes place one Saturday a month over the course of the summer, runs from 8 a.m. to noon.

This year, over 35 local vendors will be selling fresh produce, wine, honey, baked goods and other artisan items.

Marion streetscape work and other construction continues this summer, all around the Uptown area, but the market will still be accessible.