Marissa Payne

Preliminary findings from an Uptown Marion parking study show ample parking remains in much of the city’s central district during peak hours, but suggests strategies such as parking partnerships with private businesses and improved wayfinding signage.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board on Friday signed off on Cedar Rapids’ $56 million, 20-year local tax break to support Google’s $576 million data center in Cedar Rapids’ Big Cedar Industrial Center.

Internet giant Google was named in documents Thursday as the company behind the potential new $576 million data center in Cedar Rapids’ Big Cedar Industrial Center.

Developer Steve Emerson has submitted a proposal to repurpose the site that once housed the Ambroz Recreation Center into multifamily housing possibly leveraging federal disaster recovery funds. Proposals have to be reviewed, so no decision is final yet.

The first-ever assessment of Linn County’s housing needs beyond the Cedar Rapids metro shows smaller, more rural communities within the county need 661 more housing units by 2040 and more home rehabilitation initiatives to keep up with population growth.

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said she was pausing final consideration of the ordinance “in light of new information.”

Also, the public is invited to comment on updates to Johnson County’s comprehensive plan

The work started last week, after staff noticed a sinkhole caused by corrosion in the original pipe, which is critical to the city’s wastewater treatment process.

Closure follows Wells Fargo shuttering its downtown branch

The Tree of Five Seasons monument near City Hall will be moved a short distance this spring as part of Cedar Rapids’ permanent flood control system construction, making way for a flood wall.

Advocates for Social Justice members are asking for the city of Cedar Rapids to lobby against a bill that would dismantle citizen review boards that provide oversight of local law enforcement like the one Cedar Rapids created in 2021.

Danisco, an ingredients supplier and subsidiary of International Flavors and Fragrances, is seeking state financial incentives through its High-Quality Jobs Program to support its $22.2 million Cedar Rapids plant expansion.

The future operator of a new Holiday Inn Express and Suites being built in east Marion on the site of the city’s first large-scale mixed-use development anticipates opening doors to guests by the end of the year.

Under a continued partnership with the city of Cedar Rapids, second-graders in the Cedar Rapids Community School District have an opportunity to learn how to swim for free. Approximately 157 students from Johnson STEAM Academy, Garfield Elementary and Cedar River Academy are participating this spring.

Advocates hope the governor’s plan to combine mental health and substance use treatment networks will improve access for Iowans. But some worry that until other funding issues are addressed — like low Medicaid reimbursement rates — “We're just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”