Gazette Daily News Briefing, November 30

The Gazette Daily News Podcast

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for November 30, 2023.

According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny on Thursday in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 43 degrees. On Thursday evening it will be clear, with a low of around 27 degrees.

Grant Wood Elementary School in Iowa City was placed on hold about 9 a.m. Wednesday after an armed parent in the office began to threaten staff members.

According to a criminal complaint, the parent, identified as 31-year-old Brandon J. Jones, of Iowa City, entered the building to confront the principal about sending his son home from school. Staff told police he entered the main office and demanded to see the principal. He threatened to assault the principal and another staff member who tried to de-escalate the situation

Jones had a handgun on his hip and proceeded to hand it to his girlfriend, who had come into the school with him, saying something along the lines of “hold this so I don’t do something stupid with it,” the complaint states. She took the gun outside.

Jones then went into the school hallway, against protests of staff, and began looking for the principal. When staff told him they were calling the police, he went outside where he took the gun back from his girlfriend before being stopped by police, according to the complaint.

Jones faces one count if carrying weapons on school grounds, a Class D felony, and two counts of first-degree harassment, both aggravated misdemeanors.

During the incident, the building was placed on hold, which means classroom doors were closed and locked, and no one was allowed in the hallway or around the building. Classes resumed as normal for the remainder of the day and school counselors were on-site for any staff or student who would like to speak about the incident.

No candidates on the ballot in Nov. 7 city and school elections in Linn and Johnson counties requested recounts, according to county auditors.

Two races came down to just a few votes. Candidates had until Nov. 17 to ask for recounts. No challenges arose, so the winners stand.

In Solon, city council member Daniel O’Neil narrowly unseated incumbent Steve Stange in the race for mayor, receiving 191 votes — nine more than Stange.

In an at-large Alburnett school board race for three open seats, newcomer Mary Bauercamper defeated incumbent Yon Abel by just two votes to secure the third seat. She received 202 votes total — about 14 percent of ballots cast.

With its outgoing athletics director David Harris headed to Tulane University in January, where he’ll assume the same role, the University of Northern Iowa on Wednesday announced former University of Iowa AD and retired Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby will step in as interim AD.

In doing so, Bowlsby will make a return of sorts — as a Waterloo native and UNI athletics director from 1983 to 1991. Inducted into UNI’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004, Bowlsby currently is serving on the steering committee for UNI’s $250 million “Our Tomorrow” fundraising campaign.

“Very few opportunities could have lured me out of retirement, even on a short-term basis,” the 71-year-old Bowlsby, currently living in Dallas, said in a statement Wednesday. “Plenty of people have contacted me, but when President Nook called I certainly listened intently.”

After starting in the Northern Iowa athletics department Bowlsby served for 16 years as the athletics director for the University of Iowa.

Bowlsby was appointed Big 12 Conference commissioner in 2012, overseeing the addition of BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston to the conference.