Corbett appeals removal from GOP primary ballot for governor: After a three-member state panel found he was eight signatures short of a petition requirement to qualify, Former Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett will fight in court to get back on the ballot in hopes of continuing his Republican primary challenge against Gov. Kim Reynolds, he said Wednesday. During a news conference, he laid the blame on the “establishment” in his own party, saying “I don’t think it would have mattered if I had 150 more, 500 more, 1,000 more, or 5,000 more...You see they’ve been out to get me since I announced." Read more >
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs spending cuts among 23 bills: Gov. Kim Reynolds signed 23 bills into law Wednesday, including a stopgap measure intended to erase a projected general-fund shortfall and keep the state budget balanced through June 30. Without comment, the governor approved Senate File 2117, a bill that cuts $25 million in funding to state agencies and re-purposes $10 million in uncommitted gaming revenues earmarked for economic development incentives to be deposited instead in the general fund as a “revenue enhancement.” Read more >
Cedar Rapids aims to boost its food, agricultural industries: Leaders from Cedar Rapids and Iowa State University said Wednesday they hope a new report will help Cedar Rapids build on its legacy of food and agricultural-related production. Representatives of both released a study — titled the “Cedar Rapids Food and Bioprocessors Manufacturing Report” — Wednesday, which laid out what companies, such as Quaker Oats and Cargill, make in the city. The report, essentially an inventory of the grains processed in Cedar Rapids and how it is done, is intended to give the city and business a tool for potential future expansion, leaders said at a news conference. Read more >
At Franklin Middle School, students taking the initiative: After taking part recently in a walkout against gun violence in schools, a group of students from Franklin Middle School this week organized assemblies to talk about the impact of students being kind to each other. Five eighth-grade girls addressed Franklin Middle’s sixth- through eighth-grade student body, urging peers to look out for each other and “break the cycle” of bullying. Read more >
Mission Creek returns to Iowa City: 2018 lineup: This annual six-day festival showcases performance, literature and community events around Iowa City. Read more >
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