Marissa Payne

With a $9 million award from the state to fuel key developments, Cedar Rapids will use Reinvestment District program funds on public projects. Though still in the works, it appears the Guaranty Bank redevelopment and Paramount high-rise will have to find funding elsewhere.

KCRG TV shared Friday that anchor Chris Earl “has decided to leave Eastern Iowa for the warm weather of Florida for a new career opportunity.”

The risk of spring flooding on the Mississippi River, as well as its tributaries, including the Cedar and Iowa rivers, is below normal, the National Weather Service reported Thursday.

Cedar Rapids’ budget for fiscal 2023 includes infrastructure investment in flood protection, streets and utilities capital improvement projects. The budget allocates $1.4 million in federal funds to offset lost revenue from COVID-19 and another $1 million for tree planting

The timeline is uncertain for when Cedar Rapids will restart contributions of hotel-motel tax revenue to nonprofits in the 2023 budget year, but the City Council is beginning to allocate federal ARPA funds to restore some of the lost funds.

The urban reforestation plan, which aims to be a model for other communities, envisions trees as a tool to remedy social inequities, advance climate adaptation goals, enhance city design and strengthen community bonds through replanting and policy changes.

Cedar Rapids has convened a citizen panel for its once-a-decade process of reviewing the city charter, the document that governs the municipality and establishes its council-manager form of government

Monarch Research is providing large private landowners with native trees to be planted this spring in the 2022 Planting Forward for Woodlands project. Interested landowners have from now until Feb. 18 to order trees in time for spring planting.

Cedar Rapids’ new Parks and Recreation Director Hashim Taylor aims to keep “boots-on-the-ground” experiences at the heart of his work. Parks and rec shaped his life as a child, and he hopes to be a positive role model for others.

After a life in service to others, in particularly women and children through her work in Cedar Rapids’ nonprofit community, Elizabeth Hoskins, the former executive director of Waypoint Services, died Jan. 27 at age 73.

Rachel Rockwell’s departure from the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation to continue work on Group Violence Intervention with a Central City nonprofit raises questions over the program’s long-term strategy

The Cedar Rapids Public Library is among 22 libraries nationwide chosen to participate in a national initiative to develop programming that will expand access to opportunities in STEM fields for middle school students.

The FedEx Ground warehouse in southwest Cedar Rapids is expected to create 359 part-time jobs and 75 full-time positions, with 35 of those jobs at the state’s high-quality wage threshold of $23.20 an hour.

The city of Cedar Rapids has secured a estimated $8.4 million in federal funding to help clear 2020 derecho debris from local watersheds. Initial work will begin on Willow Creek and Prairie Creek.

Cedar Rapids will allocate $500,000 of its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the College Career Connection program, a new workforce partnership with Kirkwood Community College that will be the first “college promise” initiative among Iowa cities.