Judicial home gets a dome

Another dome will join the skyline of Des Moines today. A large crane is scheduled to lift the 45-ton dome onto the top of the new judicial building this morning. Rebecca Colton, the Executive Assistant to the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, says they had to build a special crane to lift the dome into place. The dome was constructed at a metal company in Boone and then moved to Des Moines.Colton says it’s expected to take a half-hour or so to get the dome in place. She says you can watch the dome go up on the building frame southeast of the State Capitol Building.While the court system has just announced a five million dollar cut in its budget, Colton says the cuts won’t impact the construction of the building, as the money does not come out of the general fund.The crane is scheduled to begin lifting the dome into place at 9 o’clock this morning. The domed judicial building will join the golden domes of the State Capitol building and the domed old historical building.