Government & Politics

Proposed legislation would require the state to prioritize maintenance of current publicly-owned lands over the acquisition of new lands. Iowa ranks near the bottom of the list of U.S. states for its share of publicly-owned land. About 3 percent of the state is public land.

Unions representing Cedar Rapids law enforcement officials shared with City Manager Jeff Pomeranz that they oppose having a civilian police department head as the city assesses whether Chief Wayne Jerman aged out of being a certified officer when he turned 66.

Rob Sand, the lone Democrat to hold statewide office, said if Republicans want to target him directly, they should hurl insults, not advance legislation he said will harm Iowa taxpayers.

Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke Wednesday to about 60 people at the Cedar Rapids Country Club for a luncheon hosted by the Linn Eagles, a Republican fundraising group.

All elected officials will get at least a 4 percent raise for fiscal year 2024, which starts July 1. County employees are also expected to get a 4 percent wage increase.

The supervisors backed a 4.92 percent pay bump for the county attorney, sheriff and their deputies, and a 4.1 percent increase for other elected officials and their deputies. The compensation board suggested 12 percent and 10 percent raises for those officials, respectively.

Residents are pushing back as more homes were referred Tuesday to a Linn County panel to initiate eminent domain proceedings as the city of Cedar Rapids looks to finalize home acquisitions for flood control in the Northwest Neighborhood.

Local skaters will now be able to use temporary equipment at Time Check Park while the city’s only permanent skate park remains closed for flood control work.