Gazette Daily News Podcast, May 16

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This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, May 16th.

Today we can expect a sunny day in the Cedar Rapids area, according to the National Weather Service, with a high near 77. It will be breezy, with a northwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Then tonight, mostly clear, with a low around 51.

Police said one man was killed and another arrested on a murder charge in a Friday night shooting in northeast Cedar Rapids. At 9 p.m., they got a report of a shooting at 3906 Northwood Dr. NE. The report came from 42-year-old James Siegel of Cedar Rapids, who told dispatchers he had shot 39-year-old Ty Casey of Cedar Rapids, according to a criminal complaint. Officers found that Casey suffered a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said two people at the home, including Siegel, were taken to the police department and were questioned. Siegel told investigators Casey threw a punch at Siegel, and Siegel responded by picking up a Ruger handgun from a nightstand and firing a shot that hit Casey in the upper chest area, according to the complaint. Police said Casey threw another punch at Siegel and missed, then Siegel shot at Casey a second time.

A woman drowned Saturday afternoon while tubing in the Wapsipinicon River. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., first responders received a report that a woman saw a friend’s tube float by her, but the friend was missing. Crews found the caller on the south bank in the area between the Paris River Bridge on Sutton Road and the bridge on Paris Road in Linn County. A rescue boat was launched. The friend was located by Linn County conservation officers unresponsive in the river shortly after 2 p.m. Lifesaving efforts began as she was transported to the Paris Road Bridge bank area. The woman — identified Sunday as 47-year-old Mechele Horak of Marion — died about a half-hour later, authorities said.

A Linn County Jail inmate in custody as a hold for the U.S. Marshals Service was found unconscious in his cell Saturday evening and was pronounced dead after emergency medical care, according to the Linn County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff’s office identified the man as 34-year-old Charles Nathan Beasley of Chicago. It was the seventh Linn County inmate death since the beginning of 2020.

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🎹 Podcast music: “New Day” by Emily McGlothlen