Gazette Daily News Podcast, October 22 and 23

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Fewer Eastern Iowa youth charged after changes made to police programs in schools

Changes made to the Cedar Rapids schools’ resource officer program — police in schools — is contributing to fewer children being charged with a crime in schools and decreasing the racial disparity of those complaints, according to data from the Iowa Department of Human Rights.

There has been a 49 percent reduction in complaints made in schools in the 6th Judicial District — Linn, Johnson, Tama, Benton, Jones and Iowa counties — since 2019. There also has been a reduction in racial disparity with Black students making up 33.9 percent of complaints, down from 53.9 percent in 2019.

Amid legal battle, Cedar Rapids to drop racial requirement for Citizen Review Board membership

The city of Cedar Rapids is preparing to eliminate a rule requiring that five of the nine-member Citizen Review Board identify as people of color. The move comes after a federal judge blocked enforcement of the policy pending the outcome of a lawsuit alleging the rule is racially discriminatory.

According to a draft policy shared with the board Thursday, the amended ordinance states the mayor and City Council shall “strive to include members from a diverse background,” including people who identify as a racial or ethnic minority. The change will do away with the requirement that the board include a specific number of people who identify as people of color.

U.S. District Court Judge C.J. Williams issued a ruling last week that bars enforcement of the rule pending the outcome of Cedar Rapids man Kevin Wymore’s lawsuit against the city and Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell. Wymore, a white man, asserts in his lawsuit that the rule about who can serve on the board is racially discriminatory.

Appeals court puts student loan relief program on hold

A federal appeals court late Friday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from six Republican-led states including Iowa to block the loan cancellation program.

The stay ordered the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal. But the order came just days after people began applying for loan forgiveness, so it was not clear yet how the stay would impact those have already applied.