Government Notes: Hughes Park ice skating rink opens in Cedar Rapids

The city of Cedar Rapids has opened its outdoor ice rink at Hughes Park for the 2025-26 winter season.

The rink will be open for recreational skating daily during regular park hours at 2100 Wilson Ave. SW. The site is lit but unsupervised, meaning skaters should use discretion in evaluating rink conditions.

As weather allows, the city’s Rollin’ Rec program will visit the rink with ice skates and a limited number of push trainers available for use on a first-come, first-served basis.

Conditions may change quickly due to weather, and city staff may need to temporarily close the rink for safety or maintenance as needed. For updates on rink availability and closures, keep an eye on the Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Facebook page.

Few changes to C.R. school district’s 2026-27 school calendar

The first day of school for students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District next year will be Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The calendar committee presented its recommendations to the Cedar Rapids school board last week. The board will vote on the proposed calendar in January.

One proposed change is for professional learning days and teacher comp days to be on Mondays only, making the no school days for students consistent. There are 12 professional learning days and four teacher directed days planned for the 2025-26 school year.

This is one less teacher directed day than the current calendar.

The committee also added Tuesday, Nov. 3 — Election Day — as a professional learning day for staff and a no school day for students. This ensures that schools can be used as polling places without students in attendance. This change aligns with surrounding school districts.

Additionally, the holiday break is shorter than the current calendar year to ensure the last day of school will be in May instead of June.

The calendar has 25 additional hours above the required 1,080 student hours. If there is an official inclement weather day, these days will be added to the end of the calendar.

The calendar also maintains five home-based learning days that can be used during snow days. That is a change that is new this year and has yet to be used.

Linn County Supervisors approve Center Point fringe area action plan

The Linn County Board of Supervisors has approved the county’s first fringe area action plan with the city of Center Point in an effort to effectively guide future development.

Supervisors unanimously approved the plan last week following a brief public hearing, and the Center Point City Council did the same in late November.

The plan, drafted by the East Central Iowa Council of Governments using feedback from citizens, county staff and elected officials, will be used to guide development and orderly growth in unincorporated Linn County within two miles of the Center Point city limits.

It creates two distinct review areas: a non-metro urban reserve district adjacent to Center Point that could be served by city utilities in the future and a rural preserve district that would largely fall within only county land use and development regulations.

Proposals in both areas would be subject to review by both Linn County and the City of Center Point, per the terms of the plan. To review those terms in full, visit Linn County Planning & Development Department website.

Marion seeks nominees for annual community impact award

In an effort to highlight volunteerism within the community, the city of Marion is seeking nominees for its annual Morris F. Neighbor Community Impact Award.

The annual award — named for prominent banker and philanthropist Morris Neighbor — aims to honor an individual or organization whose volunteerism and outstanding service have made a significant impact on the Marion community.

Community members are invited to nominate an individual, couple or organization for a chance at the annual recognition using an online form on the city’s website. Nominations are open though Jan. 31, and the selected honoree will be announced at the Marion’s State of the City event in March.

The award went most recently to Nancy A. Miller, a retired teacher, local literacy advocate and longtime supporter of the Marion Public Library.

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Hiawatha Economic Development Co. adds new board members

The Hiawatha Economic Development Co., or HEDCO, has added four new members to its board of directors, including a Linn County supervisor.

The development group last week announced its new board members in a press release that highlighted the group’s “diverse expertise and community connections.”

New board members include business owners Rod Hanssen and Rob Wenzel, Alliant Energy account manager Torri Freese and Linn County Supervisor Sami Scheetz.

The group replaces four outgoing board members whose terms recently expired. The HEDCO board consists of 14 members in total who oversee the organization’s efforts to promote economic growth in Hiawatha alongside the organization’s executive director, Liz Mathis.

Also last week, the board announced its 2026 executive leadership team consisting of board chair Heidi Sands from Hawkeye Electric, vice chair Rusty Smith from Farmers State Bank and treasurer Tyler Wright from Dave Wright Auto Group.

Iowa City school board retains board leadership

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The Iowa City school board last week unanimously voted Ruthina Malone president of the board and Molly Abraham vice president, positions they each have held for the last year.

The board also welcomed new member Jennifer Horn-Frasier and thanked outgoing member Shawn Eyestone for his time on the board.

Eyestone did not run for election. Although he previously was twice elected to the school board, Eyestone most recently was appointed in June 2024 to fill the remainder of J.P. Claussen’s term. Claussen left the board last year to take a teaching position in the district.

Eyestone was recognized by fellow board members for his humor, leadership and insightful questions.

“The work we do is really hard, so when we get to serve with people like you who are thoughtful and thorough and calm and nice, it makes the work easier. You are a person I look forward to seeing, and I really am going to miss your presence at the table,” board member Lisa Williams said.

Iowa City Housing Authority to add 3-bedroom town home

The Iowa City Council has approved a resolution that will allow for the purchase of a 3-bedroom town home on Herbert Hoover Highway in Iowa City.

The town home, which includes two bedrooms and a garage, will be managed by the Iowa City Housing Authority and is near other city-owned units.

The city will look to purchase the housing for $299,000, with $86,868 from the Iowa City Housing Authority fund and $212,132 in federal Community Development Block Grants.

The city will look to find a household with a Housing Choice Voucher to occupy the unit. The town home will be income restricted to households making less than 60 percent of the area median income and be rented below the fair market rate of $1,702.

Coralville creates Rec Center fund with Johnson County foundation

Coralville is establishing a charitable giving fund, through the Community Foundation of Johnson County to accept financial gifts to put toward a new recreation center.

The plan is estimated to cost $50 million to $55.4 million, and will construct a new building east of the existing facility in ST Morrison Park. The 109,700 square-foot space would include three gymnasiums, an elevated track, a spa and three pools: a competition pool with spectator seating, a leisure pool and a recreation and community lap pool.

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The city plans to use about $38 million of revenue from its recently-approved local-option sales tax. The tax was approved by more than 84 percent of Coralville voters who participated in the November election. It will take effect July 1, 2026.

The Iowa City school board has expressed interest in partnering with Coralville on the new rec center, by providing as much as $14 million for the project.

The current rec center pool was built 37 years ago as a partnership between the city and the school district, and the school district’s four swim programs use the rec center pool. The district also pays about one-third the operating costs. The shared use would continue with a new rec center.

The Community Foundation will take 1.25 percent of donations in exchange for administrative oversight of the fund.

Government Notes is published Mondays and contains updates from area governmental bodies. The Gazette’s Grace King, Grace Nieland and Megan Woolard contributed.