Iowa
City/School elections 2023 in Eastern Iowa
![City/School elections 2023 in Eastern Iowa](https://cbs2iowa.com/resources/media/ee117532-153d-4950-91ca-d49d7bab33b2-large16x9_election2023city.png)
Polls open Tuesday, November 7 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the 2023 City & School elections.
Here’s what you need to know about the election on Tuesday. Full election results on Tuesday can be found here.
Bond Measures
Several local school districts are asking voters to approve ballot measures this year. Many are Revenue Purpose Statements (when districts need to adopt, extend, or amend what they want to use the penny sales tax for schools) or Physical Plant & Equipment Levies (PPEL). Read more about what this tax levy is for here. Those two only need 50% (+1) support to be approved.
School bonds need 60% (+1) support and if approved allows school districts to go into debt for a specific amount of money, in order to build or construct improvements. Those bonds are paid for by property taxes so many times property taxes in the area will either be raised or extended.
More than 50 bond measures will be up for passage Tuesday across the state, according to Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation. The organization, which says it’s goal is lower taxes, says $1.72 billion is on the line.
Nine local district are asking for a combined $500 million. Find out more details on each nine schools bonds below.
Cedar Rapids Community Schools
Cedar Rapids schools voters will vote yes or no for a $220 million bond to build a new middle school in the district, fund renovations to Franklin Middle School, add turf fields and career/technical education additions to Kennedy, Jefferson and Washington High Schools, among other things.
College Community Schools
College Community Schools is asking voters to approve a $43 million bond for a new swimming pool and recreational center that would be operated by YMCA. The fund would also build a concession stand and ticket booth at John Wall Stadium, renovations at Prairie Creek Intermediate, expand the wrestling practice rooms and convert gym space into an indoor batting and hitting facility.
Dubuque Community Schools
Dubuque schools is asking voters to approve $150 million bond to buy land and build a new middle school, build a new gym for Eisenhower Elementary, and build a new baseball/softball complex.
BCLUW Schools
Charles City Schools
Durant Schools
Eldora-New Providence Schools
Mid-Prairie Schools
North Tama Schools
School Board Races
Along with bond and tax levies decisions, there are several openings on school boards across Eastern Iowa. Here are the races we are tracking. For full election results on Tuesday night, click here.
CRCSD
There are four Cedar Rapids School Board seats up for election in three separate races.
District 1 includes current CRCSD School Board President David Tominsky and challenger Stacie Rae Johnson.
District 4 features incumbent Dexter Merschbrock is facing off against Kaitlin Byers.
Two at-large seats are available too and five candidates are running for those. Links to full interviews can be found below (except for Barclay Woerner, who did not respond to our request for an interview).
Linn-Mar
Eight people are vying for four open seats on the Linn-Mar School Board. The district has seen national headlines this past year as GOP presidential candidates latched on to a previous school policy aiming at protecting transgender students.
The district suspended the policy in March after recent law changes from the State Legislature.
You can read more and see full interviews from all eight candidates here.
Iowa City
Seven candidates are running for four seats on the school board.
- Molly Abraham (Incumbent)
- Micah Broekemeier
- Robert Decker
- Charlies Eastham (Incumbent)
- Mitchell Lingo
- Jacob Onken
- Lisa Williams (Incumbent)
City Races
There are hundreds of city council and mayoral seats up for grabs Tuesday across Eastern Iowa. Not all of them are contested, and Iowa’s News Now is only covering the contested races. Check out the full election results here.
Iowa City City Council District A
Two current city councilors are running for the District A seat. Incumbent Pauline Taylor is facing a challenger from at-large councilor Laura Bergus. Both terms are over at the end of the year but Bergus is choosing to run in the District A seat.
Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague revealed Tuesday he was voting for Taylor over Bergus, calling Bergus the “anti-police candidate.” Bergus responded explaining her position on X.
Iowa City City Council At Large
Bergus’ old seat is still up for grabs and three people are vying for two at-large seats. Mazahir Salih is a former councilor who served from 2018 to 2021. Josh Moe and Mandi Remington are also running for the two seats.
See the full list of races and results once they start coming in here.
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Iowa
Inside Iowa Politics: Ag Industry cuts
![Inside Iowa Politics: Ag Industry cuts](https://gray-kcrg-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/5L53FDYW7RC6LFKZAYOUBE6G34.jpg?auth=ec05ba198491db4ca23378bb5aa73472d46a6a5246505e8dbe55845d37b4195e&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – On this episode, Iowa Political Director Dave Price speaks with Iowa State University extension economist Dr. Chad Hart about recent job cuts within the agriculture industry and how they will cause problems for other industries.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa
8-year-old Iowa boy dies after being backed over by truck while riding bike
![8-year-old Iowa boy dies after being backed over by truck while riding bike](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2018/09/07/PDEM/336c2c96-2699-4ce0-8973-4b40e199f721-635662675288024936-635609026856454874-police-tape.png?auto=webp&crop=533,299,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Iowa State Patrol and Ottumwa police are investigating the death of a 8-year-old boy who was killed by a truck while riding his bike on Tuesday.
First responders were dispatched to the 200 block of North Hancock and Dewey streets for a pedestrian crash involving an 8-year-old boy and a Dodge truck at around 12:25 p.m. Tuesday, police spokesperson Lt. Jason Bell said in a statement.
The 8-year-old died at the scene, Bell said.
Investigators reported that the truck had accidentally backed over the boy in an alley, Bell said. Police have identified the driver, but no charges have been filed as the crash is still under investigation.
The 8-year-old boy was identified as Jaxxon Cain, Ottumwa Community School District Superintendent Michael McGrory said in a statement.
Cain, who had recently finished second grade, was a cherished member of the school community, McGrory said.
“This is a heartbreaking moment for our school district,” McGrory said. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family during this unimaginably difficult time.”
The district has organized support services for students and staff for anyone affected by Cain’s death, McGrory said.
“We ask that you keep Jaxxon’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate through this unimaginable loss,” McGrory said. “Together, we will honor the memory of Jaxxon and support one another through this heart-wrenching loss.”
José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com.
Iowa
How Iowa’s offensive scheme allows Hawkeyes to ‘control tempo’ in new way
Shanahan West Coast offense is ‘really great system,’ but Iowa still needs to be ‘technically and fundamentally sound’
IOWA CITY — Abdul Hodge sees plenty of upside in Iowa football’s new offensive scheme.
“The Shanahan West Coast system is a really great system,” the Iowa tight ends coach said on The Gazette’s Hawk Off the Press podcast. “Has a lot of flexibility in the run game, in the passing game. Has a lot of answers that’s already built into it, whether it be hots or different variations in terms of the formations, various personnel groupings.”
Of course, there’s the motion, too — something Iowa fans saw a heavy dose of during the spring open practice. But Hodge also has especially taken note of the scheme providing “another way to control tempo.”
As Hodge sees it, there are “three ways you can control tempo.”
One way is what fans saw during this year’s Citrus Bowl between Iowa and Tennessee. Another way resembles what Kansas did last year on its way to averaging a Big 12-best 7.2 yards per play.
“They’ll align in the huddle, they’ll explode out as fast as possible and try to snap the football as fast as possible before the defense can actually see what’s going on and make adjustments and communicate,” Hodge said.
The third method is what Hodge sees Iowa doing with its Shanahan-style offense to “keep the defense off balance.”
“We will still huddle,” Hodge said. “We’ll get to the line of scrimmage. But at the last second, we can change that picture. We can go from a 3-by-1 formation to a 2-by-2 formation or 2-by-2 formation to 3-by-1 formation. … Or we can change the picture post-snap, when that ball is snapped.”
For those not as fluent in football schematics, the Green Bay Packers’ system offers a facsimile of what the Hawkeyes’ system will look like. (Lester was an analyst there before taking the Hawkeyes’ offensive coordinator job.)
“Being able to see those pictures, being able to see the examples, being able to pull up Green Bay’s tape and seeing some of those same concepts, I think, is very, very helpful,” Hodge said. “Because it can give you a visualization of what it’s supposed to look like.”
In fact, Iowa coaches traveled to Green Bay earlier in the offseason to meet with the Packers’ staff and watch practice. (That contingent included Hodge, who was the Packers’ third-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.)
As much as Iowa’s new scheme can help the offense in many facets, Hodge is quick to remind his players that schematics are “not the only thing that we’re going to have to hang our hat on to win football games.”
“At the end of the day, we still at Iowa are going to have to be technically and fundamentally sound,” Hodge said.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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