In one of the craziest stories I've ever covered: a former University of Iowa hospital employee had been using another man's identity for most of his life. The other man was arrested for identity fraud and committed to a mental hospital a few years ago
I'm so impressed by these Rock Island High School soccer players who stood together in support of their teammates and decided missing their game was not as important as standing against racism.
I was honored last night alongside
@erinfjordan
with the 2023 Iowa Newspaper Association Skip Weber Investigative Reporting Award, and the Best News Story. Both awards were for the same story, about deaths in Linn County Jail. Congrats to everyone who took home awards!
In personal news, a week ago yesterday was my last day working for the
@qctimes
. Starting Monday I'll be a public safety reporter for the
@gazettedotcom
. If you're in the Cedar Rapids area and have story ideas, shoot me a DM!
Food-based nonprofits in Iowa and elsewhere are facing a crisis. COVID funding is running out just as inflation is causing less people to donate and more people to seek help. TLDR, There's just not enough food.
So it has been almost a month since I started working for the Gazette, and I have definitely not been keeping things up to date on Twitter. So, here's a thread about what I've done so far with the Gazette
The commercial bus driver who refused to allow some Rock Island High School boys soccer players on his bus with a Mexican flag last week has been fired according to the president of the commercial bus company, Tri-State Travel. Story to come.
From
@tmehaffey
: the detective who broke the crazy identity theft case was given an award. He shared a few details about the investigation process. Stay tuned for more on this. I've been talking with Woods himself and am working on fleshing out his story.
The Safer Communities act, signed by President Biden in June, closed the domestic violence related "boyfriend loophole" on a national level. But in Iowa, differences in what is considered domestic abuse essentially leaves the loophole open.
Story of the day: Someone emailed Rock Island County pretending to be one of the contractors the county works with, told them the contractors had switched bank accounts, and scammed the county out of $115,000.
Tom and Linda Hughes and their family have had 5 family members who have been organ donors. Their family gathers at the Bix every year from all over the world.
#Bix
#bix7
#quadcitytimesbix7
The Cedar Rapids Police Department has released body camera footage of the fatal shooting of William Rich on Aug. 30. Rich's family had planned a protest tonight, which has now been canceled, to demand the footage be released.
This was a first for me. I've never interviewed a 9-year-old before, but Matthew was so excited to talk about his role in
@OnlyMurdersHulu
. He'll be appearing in the second episode of season two, playing a young Charles-Haden Savage (played by
@SteveMartinToGo
) in a flashback.
Matthew Lamb, a 9-year-old actor from Iowa City is set to appear in the latest season of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ the comedic true crime series starring Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin.
In one of the craziest stories I've ever covered: a former University of Iowa hospital employee had been using another man's identity for most of his life. The other man was arrested for identity fraud and committed to a mental hospital a few years ago
Glad to team up with
@AftonEmily
on this report about 7 deaths in the
@LinnCounty
jail since 2020. Sheriff said they were unpreventable. Jail safety expert says people shouldn’t die in jails “some of the most surveilled environments.”
Thinking about the time in college when I was working for my college paper (
@UniverseBYU
) and there was a story about how the university president and the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had both released statements that week condemning racism and 1/
“She had a rough start, but boy, we’re going to make up for it. She’s going to have a good life,” said Amy Zamarron-Riley, Harper’s new owner. “She will be loved. She now gets to be a dog and not a piece of property.”
This article has been a long process, but it was definitely worth it. Iowa has a long history of supporting refugees, but we just weren't ready for the huge influx of Afghans last year, and many of them are still struggling to get settled, according to refugee service providers.
When America withdrew from Afghanistan, the sudden influx of Afghan refugees was unprecedented. Many resettlement agencies had already been facing budget and staffing cuts, and they were not prepared for so many refugees to arrive all at once.
Today I talked with Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal. She told me the same thing Scott County Attorney Mike Walton told me a couple weeks ago: there's not enough prosecutors to go around.
Two Rock Island Assistant State's Attorneys have been promoted. The office is looking to hire more attorneys, but the positions have proved difficult to fill.
Community members in Montezuma continue to grieve for Xavior Harrelson one year after the almost 11-year-old went missing, and eight months after his body was found in a soybean field north of town.
A Coe College graduate who was the first in his Afghan village to learn how to read and write has spent the past 20 years supporting a school in his native country — one that educates girls as well as boys.
Tribute to Heroes, DockDogs, Balloon Glow, Imagination Square, Voices of Hope, and the July 4 pancake breakfast — so many Freedom Festival favorites are back in full force, but you won’t find them where they’ve been in recent years.
I've also had the chance this month to follow along with the residents of Geneva Tower, who had to leave their apartments after a fire and had been staying at a Red Cross shelter.
This slightly-terrifying uncanny valley mannequin is helping first responders prepare for emergencies. Check out the story for more pictures from
@geoffstellfox
and a sweet video by
@CichonBailey
I spoke with one of the former directors who resigned and she told me that some residents would check out and not return the books they had issue with.
Via
@gazettedotcom
From
@marissajpayne
, The city of Cedar Rapids seems to be looking into the possibility of keeping Chief Jerman as a civil employee, without police certification, since he recently turned 66
Scoop: 3 days after Chief Jerman turned 66 on March 4, IA Law Enforcement Academy staff emailed him about hitting the max age for officers, asked if he’d work as a civilian employee.
@gazettedotcom
looked at whether he could serve as a civilian dept head
The Linn County juvenile detention center has started working with a therapist from Tanager Place to provide mental health services to incarcerated youth
Anyway, those are a few of the things I've been up to so far in Cedar Rapids. Hopefully I start remembering to get on Twitter more than once a month from here on out.
So the wind in Cedar Rapids is not yet fast enough to be super dangerous, but just fast enough that standing outside on the balcony seemed like a fun idea. Also fast enough to take my husband's glasses right off his face. Anyone know a good eye doctor?
for data regarding officer use of force, and he realized that they're current tracking system didn't have a reliable way of searching for data like that.
In response to the recent shootings in Cedar Rapids, I took a look this week at the increasing number of Felon in Possession of a Firearm charges in the city
The Rock Island County courts are facing a huge backlog of cases, and with the end of the speedy trial suspension just around the corner, there might not be enough lawyers to go around.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I can tell you family history and getting people connected with their ancestors is a really big focus. Great reporting by
@erinfjordan
about this upcoming project!
@RHS76
@JustinRust
We'll definitely be following up with the school district next week to see if we can find out which bus company it was, if they haven't released anything by Monday.
Mostly I've been driving around meeting all the people with jobs in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City related to the public safety beat. Some of those conversations have led to story ideas, such as ...
“We’ve seen it over and over again, folks getting out and just not being able to find a place to live. And if you can’t find a roof over your head, then everything else just kind of tumbles around you.”
Guys!! This story was so much fun to work on, and you should totally check it out. I wrote it as a story package, so also check out the sister story about freedom of the press on BYU campus! ()
Newspapers have been losing revenue for years as more and more of their content moves online, but the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have pushed many papers over the edge. Many journalists have been laid off leading to an uncertain future.
#news
Jerry Spaeth, Carl Anderson, and Ken Stark are here cheering on Ken's wife, who has been running the
#Bix7
for 22 years.
"I ran it 15, now I stand here and drink beer," Carl said.
I second this. I've worked with Tom at two separate newspapers, and if you've ever overheard him having an over-the-phone interview with a politician, you know this is a man who knows what he's talking about.
Just so y’all know,
@tjbarton83
is a consummate professional and damn fine reporter. And I’m not just saying that because he’s on my team. I’ve seen this job done well and I’ve seen it done poorly. Tom does it well, every day. Period.
Literal don’t @ me.
Hey y'all! I'm working on a story for
@UniverseBYU
about how holiday travel is changing this year. I'd love to hear about how your plans have changed, or what you're planning to do to stay safe while traveling. Thanks!
Hey everyone! Who's planning on doing something for
#GivingTuesdayNow
? I'm going to be writing a follow-up story about what local people and groups are doing, so let me know what your plans are!