Izabela Zaluska

About 50 Iowa City residents, University of Iowa students and others gathered Tuesday afternoon in support of Ukraine. Iowa City residents from Ukraine shared worries about their families and how important it is for people to pay attention and help Ukrainians.

Masks will no longer be required inside Iowa City facilities as of Tuesday but still will be available to visitors, the city announced Monday. North Liberty and Coralville have also ended their mask mandates.

Johnson County supervisors voted 3-2 to stick with a “lottery” system in distributing $2 million in federal pandemic funds to low- and moderate-income residents, rather than prioritizing workers -- such as undocumented immigrants -- excluded from the stimulus payments received by most Americans in 2020 and 2021.

The Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department “made the difficult decision to cancel the Wednesday Farmers Market for at least the 2022 season,” according to an email vendors received. Not enough vendors signed up before the Feb. 15 deadline.

Johnson County’s broadband study will be funded by pandemic relief dollars and likely led by Cedar Rapids-based HR Green, pending approval from the board of supervisors. The study will examine the county’s broadband capabilities, needs and deficiencies.

Mayor Chris Hoffman began his first term as mayor earlier this year but he’s not a stranger to local government. Hoffman was on the North Liberty City Council for 14 years before being elected mayor.

Havenpark Communities, which owns several mobile home parks in Iowa, purchased two parks in Iowa City last month for a combined $33.5 million. Havenpark attracted attention in 2019 for hiking tenants’ rent anywhere from 24 percent to 69 percent.

The Iowa City Council has directed nearly $1 million in pandemic relief funds to CommUnity Crisis Services so the nonprofit can expand its mobile crisis outreach program. The move comes in response to the increased need for mental health services during the pandemic.

Thursday’s edition of the North Liberty Leader was the weekly paper’s last. Low subscriber count and insufficient advertising support are among the factors that led to Woodward Communications decision to stop publishing.

The estimated project cost is now $10.7 million due to material and labor cost increases, but the city is looking to cut that down to $9.9 million “without jeopardizing the integrity of the project.”

The search began last fall after Fire Chief John Grier announced his retirement from the Iowa City Fire Department. Grier’s last day is Friday.

Tyler Jacob Summers of West Des Moines is facing assault and harassment charges after allegedly threatening health care workers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and threatening to blow up the facility, according to a criminal complaint.

This year’s One Book Two Book festival, organized by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization, will feature both in-person and online events for families. The two-day festival will kick off Saturday, Feb. 26.

The Rapid Rehousing Project, run by the Iowa Finance Authority, will expand services offered by existing agencies, as well as work to reach individuals who might not have been eligible for assistance previously.

The majority of the board supports raising supervisors’ salaries by 2.25 percent and the salaries of other elected officials 4.42 percent — a lower increase than the 18 percent recommendation from the compensation board.