Articles Tagged: 2025 Elections: Ballot Initiatives

Katie Freeman will be the next member of the Coralville City Council after winning election earlier this month. The Gazette sat down with Freeman to discuss the election and what lies ahead for the city.

Multimillion dollar school bond referendums failed to garner voter approval Tuesday in the Williamsburg and Central City school districts.

Cedar Rapids schools Superintendent Tawana Grover wants to harness the momentum gained in Tuesday’s failed bond referendum vote to build a school district the community backs.

The tax will apply to overnight lodging stays within city limits, meaning residents’ own taxes will not be affected.

Every incorporated city in Johnson County will have a 1 percent local-option sales tax following the the approval of the new tax by voters in Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty, Oxford and Shueyville.

Unofficial results show the Cedar Rapids school district’s $117 million bond referendum narrowly failing by less than 1 percent — fewer than 200 votes short of approval. The referendum received just over 59 percent approval but requires a supermajority of 60 percent to pass.

At Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, the kitchen is a “maze” said Dana Visek, one of the kitchen managers at the school. More preparation space is needed, and meals are served on single-use plates because the high school does not have a dishwasher. All dishes used for cooking and serving are washed by hand in a three hole sink.

A $117 million school bond referendum — created with more than a year of community input — is headed to voters in the Cedar Rapids school district Nov. 4.

Five Johnson County cities will look to join the rest of the cities in the county that have implemented a 1 percent local-option sales tax. Voters in Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty, Oxford and Shueyville will vote on the issue next month.

Coralville voters will elect three council members and a new mayor this November after Mayor Meghann Foster announced she would not seek re-election. In total, there are 10 candidates for those four seats.

With Election Day fast approaching, The Gazette asked candidates to complete a questionnaire about their priorities if elected. Here’s what they had to say about how they would address affordable housing needs in Iowa City.