Cedar Rapids City Council Archives

Open house seeks public input on fate of First and First West, and will provide update on west side flood control in Cedar Rapids

Posted on Nov 11, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

After accepting a casino just isn’t in the cards for First and First West, the city of Cedar Rapids is seeking public input on what to do with the downtown site. An open house on Tuesday, Nov. 12 will allow people a chance to speak out on what they would like to see on vacant land. The event will also feature information about the upcoming flood control projects on the west side of Cedar Rapids. […]

‘Don’t do this’: Rompot residents protest Cargill’s plan for a new Cedar Rapids rail yard at City Planning Commission meeting

Posted on Nov 8, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

A closely divided Cedar Rapids City Planning Commission (CPC) voted on Thursday to recommend approval of Cargill’s plan to build a 200-car rail yard along Stewart Road next to the Rompot neighborhood and near Prairie Park Fishery. The vote came at the end of a nearly four-hour meeting, during which many Rompot residents spoke out against the plan. […]

Cedar Rapids election: Overland, Poe and Loeffler win seats on city council, while Merschbrock defeats school board incumbent

Posted on Nov 6, 2019 by Paul Brennan

Both incumbents running for reelection to the Cedar Rapids City Council won in the combined city-school election on Tuesday, and union leader and small-business owner Patrick Loeffler won an open at-large seat on the council. But it was a different story for the school board. A challenger beat the only incumbent running for reelection by 13 percentage points. […]

An Election Day guide for Cedar Rapids voters

Posted on Nov 4, 2019 by Paul Brennan

Browse Little Village’s Iowa City voter guide here. Polls open in the combined city and school election at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and the polls will remain open until 8 p.m. Voters in Cedar Rapids will choose three city council members, and three members of the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board. Cedar Rapids […]

Cedar Rapids City Council candidate Jorel Robinson discusses gun violence, traffic cameras and decriminalizing marijuana

Posted on Nov 3, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

Jorel Robinson, a productivity specialist at GoDaddy, is seeking an at-large seat on the Cedar Rapids City Council. Robinson is a co-founder of the Big Bang Foundation. He said the group started as a way for him and his friends to travel and perform music, but they wanted to do something more, so the group turned its focus to connecting with young people of color to help raise the awareness of those young people of their own abilities and empower them. […]

Cedar Rapids City Council candidate Patrick Loeffler talks about bringing his experience as a business owner and union leader to city government

Posted on Nov 2, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

Patrick Loeffler, a labor union leader and small business owner, said he’s running for the Cedar Rapids City Council to help others. It’s the same reason he and his wife, Kymm, opened Corner Store Apothecary & More, he explained. The Czech Village store, which opened in February 2017, sells CBD oil and hemp-based products. Loeffler has intractable epilepsy and uses CBD oil to control his seizure activity. […]

Cedar Rapids City Council candidate Ann Poe discusses economic development, flood protection and the importance of listening to the community

Posted on Nov 1, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

Ann Poe is running for her third term on the Cedar Rapids City Council. The at-large councilmember said it was her experience as a community liaison for the Rebuild Iowa Office following the 2008 floods that first inspired her to run for city council eight years ago. […]

Cedar Rapids City Council candidate Scott Overland discusses strengthening neighborhoods and protecting the urban environment

Posted on Oct 31, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

Incumbent Scott Overland is running to represent District 2 for a second term. Overland is the vice president of investments at Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust and is also a trustee of the Indian Nature Creek Center. […]

Cedar Rapids City Council candidate Sofia Mehaffey discusses food insecurity, improving accessibility and making more voices heard

Posted on Oct 30, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

Sofia Mehaffey is the director of community health and nutrition programs at Horizons: A Family Services Alliance, where she oversees its large Meals on Wheels program. The program, which provides which fresh and nutritious food to seniors and others in need, served over 300,000 meals last year. […]

City council elections 2019: A rundown of the candidates in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids

Posted on Oct 15, 2019 by Paul Brennan

As Democratic candidates for president endlessly cycle through the state, it can be easy to lose sight of the city council elections happening in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids on Nov. 5. Little Village sent questionnaires to all the candidates in order to offer readers a brief profile of each. […]

Cedar Rapids City Council candidates discuss top priorities, reasons for running at League of Women Voters forum

Posted on Oct 1, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

Candidates for the Cedar Rapids City Council shared their vision and plans for the city at a Sept. 26 forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Linn County (LWV). However, when the second panel of the night began, featuring candidates for the two at-large seats on the November ballot, only two of the three candidates were present. […]

Five Cedar Rapids City Council candidates vie for votes in a race tinged with controversy

Posted on Sep 23, 2019 by Izabela Zaluska

The upcoming Cedar Rapids election has two contested city council races on the ballot. Sofia Mehaffey is running against incumbent Scott Overland for District 2. Three candidates are running for two at-large seats: incumbent Ann Poe, Jorel Robinson and Patrick Loeffler. […]

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