Marissa Payne

There are five SSMIDs in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, but what exactly are they? How do they get their money? And who decides how it’s spent? This week, Curious Iowa digs in to find out more about these districts that fuel streetscaping, events, holiday lights, public art and more.

Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates, the consultants the city tapped to draft a new vision plan guiding the future of downtown Cedar Rapids, will return to advise on the structure of downtown’s managing entity.

A developer is seeking workforce housing tax credits to transform city-owned land on Ellis Boulevard NW into seven newly built townhome units.

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said the Cedar Rapids City Council won’t weigh in on a foreign policy matter where it has no authority after members of the Advocates for Social Justice asked the council to pass a resolution urging a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said Cedar Rapids is “hoping to see development activity of some kind in 2024” at the Big Cedar Industrial Park. The City Council has advanced recent rezoning requests by Alliant Energy, which controls the park, but no specific projects have yet emerged.

If you’ve wondered what economic impact Hawkeye women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark and the team have had on Iowa, a new think tank will soon have the answer. Plus, Gov. Kim Reynolds said it will help model the impact of tax cuts.

A Dallas-based investment company, Reserve Development, has bought the former Sears property at Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids. The purchase price and redevelopment plans have not yet been disclosed.

After three failed attempts to sell and repurpose the old brick building on Mount Vernon Road SE, the city of Cedar Rapids will take redevelopment proposals once more after receiving an inquiry from a developer.

A late-emerging candidate — blizzard conditions — upended 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls’ final weekend of campaigning in Iowa and is expected to drive down caucus turnout. Those at campaign events Monday largely said the record-setting cold weather wouldn’t dissuade them from caucusing.

David Maier, the newly seated Cedar Rapids City Council member, is seen as a “connector” between community and city government. His campaign outreach across the city framed his approach to public service as being “a representative of the people.”

The recognized date that Cedar Rapids was officially incorporated is Jan. 15, 1849, making this year its 175th anniversary. Here’s how the city plans to celebrate.

A developer gained the city’s support to seek competitive Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Iowa Finance Authority to transform the derecho-damaged MAC building at 1220 Jacolyn Dr. SW into a $16 million affordable housing facility.

Crews will likely break ground this spring on Linn County’s Dows Farm “agricommunity” while the project’s development team re-imagines the farming element planned for the site.

The former GoDaddy building in Hiawatha has been sold to local developers, Hiawatha Economic Development Corp. announced. No redevelopment plans or sale price have been shared yet.

A contentious plan to demolish Harrison Elementary School and build a new facility there will be paused for more community feedback, the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s operations official said Thursday, as a city panel sent the district back to firm up its plan.