Marissa Payne

“Wearing a mask should be a personal decision, not a government mandate,” said U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who represents the city in Congress. The city’s mandate encompasses only its public buildings.

Jim Miller’s departure comes as the Cedar Rapids arts organization waits for the IRS to reinstate its 501(c)(3) status after it was revoked last year, before Miller came on board.

Al ver la falta de programación para jóvenes latinos, LULAC creó “Fuerzas Culturales,” el primer grupo de Ballet Folklórico en Cedar Rapids. Las prácticas del grupo culminarán en un espectáculo el 18 de Septiembre en el Festival Latino.

Seeing a lack of youth programming for Latinos in Cedar Rapids, LULAC started Cedar Rapids’ first Ballet Folklórico group. “Fuerzas Culturales” is practicing three times a week before the troupe’s Sept. 18 performance at Festival Latino.

The city of Cedar Rapids is again requiring staff and visitors to wear masks or face coverings inside city buildings to curb the spread of COVID-19 as Iowa sees another uptick in cases.

Gutschmidt Properties is working over the next two years to transform a blighted block into “Rainbow Road,” a string of 10 houses on M Street SW that will be painted in the colors of the rainbow to represent LGBTQ inclusion.

Two Maryland artists have worked on two murals in Cedar Rapids’ Time Check neighborhood, beautifying one of the areas in town that was hit hardest by the 2008 flood.

The city of Cedar Rapids plans to purchase a building for $2.5 million from United Fire Group to free up room at the police station and create more space for staff.

Benefiting from an influx of federal cash as well as state and local funding streams, Cedar Rapids is accelerating construction of its $750 million permanent flood control system with around $50 million in projects on both sides of the Cedar River this year.

Plans calling for the construction of 89 new single-family houses east of the Rompot neighborhood and the site of Cargill’s contentious rail yard project got the green light from the City Planning Commission this week.

As a vote approaches on the school district’s school resource officer agreement with the Cedar Rapids police, the school board agreed to prioritize convening community stakeholders to identify solutions addressing the root causes to behavioral issues in schools.

As some school board members question whether police in schools promote a safer learning environment, city officials are unanimous in their backing of school resource officers. The school board has a work session Wednesday to guide its impending vote on school resource officers.

As plans for a “destination” skatepark around Time Check remain years away from coming to fruition, some local skate community members said they are pleased with plans for the relocated Riverside skatepark

An influx of federal funding to aid in recovery both from the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 derecho will largely support housing development or rehabilitation projects in Linn County.

The city is seeking funds through a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to replant 1,000 street trees this fall.