Gazette Daily News Podcast, November 14

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This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, November 14th.

According to the National Weather Service, it will be cloudy today in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 39. Winds from the southeast 5 to 10 mph. Tonight snow is likely, mainly after 4 a.m. and a low around 30. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch is possible.

For the first time since the pandemic upended daily life across the globe and halted travel, the city of Cedar Rapids is once again doling out grants to local arts and cultural nonprofits funded through the tax it takes in from overnight hotel guests. The Cedar Rapids City Council last week awarded $525,000 in hotel-motel tax revenue for fiscal 2023 — the budget year spanning July 1 through June 30, 2023 — to 17 nonprofit organizations that fuel the city’s economy by offering arts, entertainment and recreational attractions that draw thousands of residents and visitors to town. Although payments are restarting, the award is less than half the amount the city typically distributes.

The oldest bridge in Linn County will be lifted up by cranes and put on a truck to haul it about a mile away to the Indian Creek Nature Center, where it will become a pedestrian bridge. The Bertram Bridge, also known as the Blue Bridge on Bertram Road near the nature Center, was built in 1876. The steel truss bridge’s design was brand-new for the time, and over the next 146 years no major alterations have been made. Its timber deck surface has been replaced several times over the decades and, in 1991, it received a royal blue color treatment, earning its nickname. Throughout its life so far, it served vehicle traffic and survived multiple flooding events, most notably in 1993 and 2008. The Blue Bridge will arrive to its new location during the Indian Creek Nature Center’s 50th anniversary next year. The bridge replacement project will cost $2,425,608.45 and the truss relocation will cost $184,373.00. The projects are both funded with local-option sales tax money. The new bridge will be a concrete, two-way bridge. The project is expected to be complete by August 2023.

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🎹 Podcast music: “Dubstep” by Emily McGlothlen