Gazette Daily News Podcast, November 10

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, November 10.

Wednesday won’t be much colder than Tuesday, but it has the potential to be much wetter. According to the National Weather Service the high temperature will be near 58 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. The chance of rain will increase as the day goes on, with mild rain most likely until Wednesday night, when there will be the possibility of a thunderstorm. The chance for rain Wednesday night is listed at 100 percent, with the possibility of several inches of rain.

Mayor Brad Hart said Tuesday he is endorsing challenger Tiffany O’Donnell as his successor in the Nov. 30 runoff after voters decided last week that City Hall needed a change in elected leadership.

“Tiffany O’Donnell has leadership experience, broad knowledge of the community, ran a nonpartisan campaign and has demonstrated the high ethical standards we need in the mayor of Iowa’s second largest city.” Hart said in a statement.

Because no candidate won 50 percent of the vote in last week’s election, the two top vote-getters — O’Donnell and TrueNorth Companies employee Amara Andrews — will face each other in a Nov. 30 runoff election for mayor.

Andrews narrowly edged out Hart for second place in the race, who announced last week that he would not be seeking a recount.

A Cedar Rapids man died after losing control of his motorcycle Monday evening in the 3900 block of Lewis Bottoms Road, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

Randy Deaton, 55, was discovered in a ditch after first responders went to the scene of the single-vehicle accident.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said his blue 2017 Harley-Davidson motorcycle left the roadway while driving southbound on Lewis Bottoms Road. After losing control and leaving the roadway, he struck a mailbox and came to rest in the west ditch.

Deaton was treated for his injuries after being airlifted to a hospital, but it was not enough to prevent his death.

A Linn County judge has ordered a Cedar Rapids contractor to pay $40,000 as part of a settlement for improper asbestos removal during renovations at Washington High School in 2014 and 2015.

The order, signed Monday, resolves a 2019 lawsuit by the state against Abatement Specialties alleging the company failed to thoroughly inspect for and remove asbestos before renovation, failed to adequately wet the material, and failed to carefully lower it to the ground during removal.

Washington was closed July 8, 2015, after an air sample test showed asbestos fibers in the air above an acceptable level during a renovation project, The Gazette reported. An anonymous tipster reported seeing asbestos-filled debris in the school hallways during the renovation.

An investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources showed communication and oversight problems led to the release of asbestos into the air, possibly exposing more than 100 construction workers to the carcinogen.

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