The Cedar Rapids Civil Service Commission heard nearly 21 hours of testimony over two days as it considers the appeal filed by fired Cedar Rapids police officer Lucas Jones. The testimony, beginning Tuesday, centered around what happened during a traffic stop on Oct. 30, 2016. The Cedar Rapids Police Department said Jones lied about turning […]
Cedar Rapids News
Posted inCommunity/News
Two-day appeal hearing for fired CRPD officer Lucas Jones scheduled to begin Tuesday morning
The two-day appeal hearing for fired Cedar Rapids police officer Lucas Jones is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning. Both days of the hearing will begin at 9 a.m. and will be streamed on the city’s Facebook page. The three-member Civil Service Commission will hear from lawyers and witnesses via Zoom. Jones’s lawyer Skylar Limkemann and […]
Posted inCommunity/News, COVID-19
Derecho relief: Survey asks Linn County residents about their needs; FEMA is closing Cedar Rapids center
Linn County agencies have created a questionnaire to identify what residents still need in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 derecho. County residents impacted by the derecho are encouraged to complete the questionnaire. Linn County Public Health, HACAP and Waypoint partnered with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to create the assessment. The information provided […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Derecho recovery: Boxes of free, fresh produce available in Cedar Rapids on Saturday
People impacted by the Aug. 10 derecho can pick up fresh produce, dairy and frozen meat at a drive-through event on Saturday. The event will begin at 11 a.m. and run through 3 p.m. at St. Jude Catholic Church, 50 Edgewood Rd NW, in Cedar Rapids. Individuals driving up should enter the parking lot from […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids Community School District working with high school students on anti-racism initiatives
The Cedar Rapids Community School District is working to establish a Black student union at all four high schools and create a superintendent’s advisory council, among other action steps as part of the district’s anti-racist initiatives. Superintendent Noreen Bush provided an update on these efforts at the Board of Education’s Monday meeting. The update was […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids schools prepare for a different start to the school year due to COVID-19, derecho
Cedar Rapids students have less than a week before the school year starts on Sept. 21, and this year will look very different due to precautions and planning to address the COVID-19 pandemic and damage left by the derecho. The Cedar Rapids Community School District decided last month to start the school year later than […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Appeal hearing for fired Cedar Rapids police officer Lucas Jones will be ‘all virtual’
The Cedar Rapids Civil Service Commission voted on Friday to keep the appeal hearing for fired police officer Lucas Jones all virtual in light of increased cases of COVID-19 in Linn County. The two-day hearing is scheduled to begin on Sept. 22. The Cedar Rapids Police Department fired Jones in June for turning off a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
More than 5,000 homes and businesses in Cedar Rapids are still without internet
About 5,600 people in the Cedar Rapids area are still without internet nearly a month after the Aug. 10 derecho. The main internet providers in the area — ImOn Communications and Mediacom — provided an update during the Cedar Rapids City Council’s Tuesday meeting. Lisa Rhatigan, vice president of marketing at ImOn Communications, said 10 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Secretary of State limits use of drop boxes for absentee ballots, leaving Linn County with only one
County auditors in Iowa are allowed to collect absentee ballots using drop boxes, as long as they follow the new guidance from the Secretary of State’s Office that limits where those drop boxes can be placed. The Secretary of State’s Office previously said Iowa law does not allow county auditors to use drop boxes to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
City of Cedar Rapids announces changes to transit system
Cedar Rapids Transit will make changes to its schedules and routes starting Tuesday. The changes are intended to improve bus service by “streamlining routes, reducing travel times, shifting service from lower-use to higher-use areas and adding service frequency,” according to the city. The change will include additional morning and afternoon weekday peak service on hourly […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart issues face covering mandate
Nearly everyone in Cedar Rapids is now required to wear a face covering in public, according to a proclamation signed by Mayor Brad Hart on Wednesday. “For several months, I have been encouraging, even begging, for the voluntary use of masks by all residents in public in order to protect our residents and get us […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County residents impacted by derecho have until Sunday to apply for food assistance
Linn County residents impacted by the Aug. 10 derecho might be eligible for the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, or D-SNAP. To be eligible, individuals must have been a resident of Linn County as of Aug. 10, meet the income limits and must have been “adversely affected by the derecho including destroyed/spoiled food.” Those already […]
