Gazette Daily News Podcast: February 12, 2024

– Unnamed company looks to build $576M data center in Cedar Rapids

– What is the ‘science of reading?’ And could it improve Iowa’s reading scores?

– Renewed legislation aims to safeguard Mississippi River amid growing environmental concerns

Episode Transcript

You’re listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast on Monday, February 12th, 2024. This podcast provides the latest headlines from the Gazette newsroom. I’m Becky Lutgen Gardner.

First, an unnamed company is looking to build a $576 million dollar data center in Cedar Rapids. It could be the largest economic development projects in the city’s history.

That company is seeking city and state incentives to build that massive data center in the Big Cedar Industrial Center.

In the coming weeks, the Cedar Rapids City Council will consider a development agreement with Heaviside LLC for the project to build one or more data centers along 76th Avenue SW and Edgewood Road SW.

While Heaviside is named, the company that will occupy the development is not.

The city has awarded incentives to build massive warehouses and other buildings in the rapidly growing southwest quadrant, including SubZero’s light manufacturing building, FedEx’s new distribution center and BAE Systems’ classified defense aerospace facility.

If approved, the data center project could surpass even those major investments.

The proposed development would create 31 new full-time employees. Construction is anticipated to start within three years of the development agreement taking effect.

Under the terms outlined in council documents, the company could receive a 20-year, 70 percent tax exemption if it meets employment thresholds and the high-quality job application is approved. The earliest Iowa Economic Development Authority board meeting where that would be considered is March 15.

According to council documents, if it’s not approved, “the city agrees to work in good faith to provide comparable Tax Increment Financing (TIF) rebates instead of the tax exemption.”

Next, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is pushing new guidelines on teaching reading to boost statewide literacy.

Iowa elementary school teachers would be required to teach literacy using techniques commonly known as the “science of reading” under legislation being advanced by Iowa lawmakers.

In her annual Condition of the State address last month, Reynolds said Iowa needs to increase reading outcomes for elementary students.

Last year, the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress reported 34 percent of third-graders were not yet proficient in reading and language/writing skills.

Multiple studies have shown that students who cannot read by third grade face much greater challenges in future academic success and beyond.

Reynolds’ bill would require Iowa colleges and universities to train teachers in a “science of reading” evidence-based literacy program.

Simply put, the science of reading techniques teach children how to recognize words and what those words mean — and how to figure out what new words mean.

Many of those strategies are already a part of the state’s programming. However, there are major differences in how reading is taught across the state.

Iowa teacher candidates would have to pass the Foundations of Reading assessment to graduate under the legislation. The state would also invest $3.1 million for current teachers to take and pass the same test within the next three years.

Iowa is the only state in the nation that does not require teachers to pass a reading instruction competency test to earn an education degree or license.

Iowa has already invested $9.2 million to provide the science of reading training to elementary teachers and administrators in public and private schools.

Holly Reeder, an instructional coach and certified trainer at Hiawatha Elementary School, says professional learning has transformed literacy instruction in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

“We saw an increase in both our state test scores and within our weekly progress monitoring,” Reeder said.

And finally, a proposal to create a federal funding program to protect the Mississippi River is back in front of Congress.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin announced last week that she’s introducing the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative in the Senate. Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota will bring the same bill forward in the House.

Advocates for the Mississippi River argue it is long overdue to have such a program for the Mississippi. Millions of Americans rely on it for drinking water, commerce and recreation, and its floodplains provide food and habitat for hundreds of fish and wildlife species.

But it's facing many challenges, from extreme weather to habitat loss to persistent agricultural and industrial pollution.

Last spring, communities along the upper river saw near-record floodwaters, bookended by severe droughts that slowed shipping traffic to a crawl.

Today’s weather in Cedar Rapids. Sunny, with a high near 46, Tonight, mostly clear, with a low around 25. Tuesday will be mostly sunny with a high near 44.

You can find a link to each of the stories featured in today’s episode in this episode’s description or at the gazette dot com.

Join The Gazette for Iowa Ideas In-Depth Week on Homelessness in Iowa, beginning February 12th. Register for free to participate in the daily lunch-hour virtual sessions on homelessness, resources, and long-term solutions in Iowa. Visit Iowa Ideas dot com for full details and to register, that's Iowa ideas dot com.

Thank you for listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast. I’m Becky Lutgen Gardner.

Comments: becky.gardner@thegazette.com