Cedar Rapids, Linn County | featured news

IOWA CITY — In 1971, three University of Iowa students, Nancy “Rusty” Barceló, Ruth Pushetonequa and Antonio Zavala, established what is now the Latino Native American Cultural Center (LNACC) on campus. In 2021, the LNACC is celebrating 50 years of creating community and a home away from home for Latinx and Native American students at the University of Iowa.

Although several lawmakers and lobbyists last week praised an Iowa House version of a public education free speech bill that stripped references to banning certain types of diversity training, a Republican legislator has introduced a separate measure asking lawmakers to ban that same training.

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city has rescinded the burn ban that took effect Aug. 17, a week after the derecho downed hundreds of trees across Cedar Rapids.

DES MOINES — Legislation to ease some gun restrictions and make Iowa the 19th state to adopt a permit-less constitutional carry approach drew cheers Monday from advocates as striking a blow for freedom, while critics called it an effort to unravel Iowa’s gun safety laws.

SIOUX CITY — Gov. Kim Reynolds has made it abundantly clear she’s not happy with the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that passed the U.S. House on Saturday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Meatpacking workers across the country have started receiving coronavirus vaccines and thousands more will have a chance to get their shots this week, offering some peace of mind in an industry that was ravaged by COVID-19 a year ago.

DES MOINES — A Democratic Eastern Iowa senator Monday accused his GOP counterparts of voting to “defund police” by approving legislation that would ban most traffic enforcement cameras, cutting ticket revenue that cities use to fund public safety.

The newly approved Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine that’s now on the way to states including Iowa could protect millions more Americans from contracting the disease — if they can be assured the single-shot vaccine is worth getting as its overall efficacy appears lower than the two-dose ones already on the market.

Under the last coronavirus stimulus package signed into law late last year, each state was responsible for implementing federal unemployment extensions for people who lost their jobs in the pandemic.

IOWA CITY — Just days after a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill to force Iowa’s public universities to hold in-person spring graduations — despite University of Iowa and Northern Iowa plans for virtual ceremonies — all thr