Gazette Daily News Podcast, March 25

We should get a break from rain Friday but it will still be a bit chilly with a stiff wind. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 48 degrees. It will be a bit breezy during the day, with a 10 to 15 mph wind increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Wind gusts could get as high as 40 mph. There will be a 20 percent chance of rain in the evening, but besides that it will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

The Iowa House has approved an 11-month moratorium on the Iowa Utilities Board scheduling eminent domain hearings for pipeline construction.

If the state Senate agrees with the proposed moratorium, it would delay any hearings on the three carbon capture pipelines being proposed in Iowa until after Feb. 21, 2023 — when the Legislature is back in session.

The amendment to House File 2565 came from Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who said the moratorium would provide “eminent domain protection for landowners affected by proposed pipelines.”

It would not change the rules regarding the use of eminent domain or stop the construction of the carbon pipelines being proposed in Iowa, but it would provide 11 months of a level playing field for negotiations between landowners and companies hoping to build pipelines, he said.

A Cedar Rapids man avoided a possible life sentence Thursday by pleading guilty to lesser charges for killing his pregnant girlfriend and causing the death of her unborn child nearly two years ago.

Johnnie Osborne, 28, originally charged with first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, attempted murder and termination of pregnancy during a felony.

His trial was set to start next Tuesday.

He now faces up to 50 years in prison for second-degree murder, 25 for attempted murder and 10 years for termination of pregnancy.

During the plea hearing, Osborne admitted to fatally shooting girlfriend Asia T. Grice, 25, who was in her second trimester of pregnancy on May 1, 2020.

She died of a gunshot wound to her head, and her unborn child didn’t survive, according to a criminal complaint. Grice’s friend, Keonna Smith, who was in the apartment at the time, also was shot and seriously injured.

Twenty-one members of the University of Iowa Health Care community, UI administration, or Board of Regents have been appointed to a committee to find the campus’ next vice president for medical affairs and dean of its Carver College of Medicine.

The search committee to replace outgoing Vice President and Dean Brooks Jackson also has chosen the executive search firm of Wittkieffer to assist in the national hunt for a successor.

The university didn’t immediately provide The Gazette with its Wittkieffer contract or say how much it is paying the firm.

Wittkieffer, according to its website, currently is helping UI find administrators for its College of Public Health, and find new chief analytics and chief quality control officers for UI Hospitals & Clinics.

Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.