Cedar Rapids, Linn County | featured news

CEDAR RAPIDS — McKinley STEAM Academy students will get the chance for more hands-on learning this year with the construction of a new walking trail, bird sanctuary, monarch habitat, greenhouse and garden and an outdoor reading garden.

When Kaitlyn Vriezelaar graduated from Kirkwood Community College’s culinary and baking program in 2013, she didn’t necessarily envision running a baking operation full-time from home, especially not one for canines.

A funeral home driver, a telemarketer and a fast food worker all quit their jobs.Now Jessica Carney, a Marion non-fiction writer and event planner, is sharing their wacky and humorous work stories through her new podcast, “And Then I Quit.”

CEDAR RAPIDS — A proposal to ban traffic cameras throughout Iowa — except on the dangerous S-curve on Interstate 380 by downtown Cedar Rapids — got the green light Thursday from the Iowa Senate Judiciary Subcommittee.

Joe Elsinger feels fortunate to have worked on a variety of meaningful projects in his career as a civil engineer — including projects like building a concrete bridge in West Africa. But when a derecho hit the Midwest this summer, he turned his focus to the devastation in his own backyard and on helping here at home.

A House committee Thursday advanced an altered version of a senate free speech bill aimed at enshrining into law new Board of Regents First Amendment initiatives that would — among other things — ban administrators from making public statements on policy issues without Board of Regents sign off.

CEDAR RAPIDS — The team charged with drafting a plan to reforest the city after most of the tree canopy was lost in the Aug. 10 derecho will soon engage the public in its work.Community members are invited to give input on the replanting process and learn how they can get involved at a virtual public kickoff event at 7 p.m. March 9, according to a city news release.

DES MOINES — Members of a Senate committee clashed Thursday over legislation that would delay and reduce the unemployment benefits paid Iowans — with backers saying the changes would still keep Iowa’s program among the nation’s most generous while critics called them “cruel” and ill-timed during a pandemic.

DES MOINES — Iowa lawmakers are in discussions — among themselves and with Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office — to determine what, if any, role they will play in drawing congressional and legislative districts to reflect population changes over the past 10 years.

JOHNSTON — A new state website with COVID-19 vaccine information will launch soon, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday, but the site will not be capable of providing an avenue for Iowans to schedule a vaccine appointment.