Cedar Rapids’ automated traffic cameras generated 122,620 citations during the first six months after the city started using them again in July. The city also collected $3.1 million in fines for speeding or red light violations during those six months.
Cedar Rapids Police Department
Dreeam Sports is launching a mentorship program for at-risk kids in Cedar Rapids
Dreeam Sports is starting its second year of working with young people in the Cedar Rapids area by launching a new mentorship program. Brandon Jackson started the nonprofit in February 2019 to help make sports affordable for kids in Cedar Rapids. He added the extra “e” to Dreeam to emphasize the importance of “exceeding expectations,” Jackson told Little Village.
Cedar Rapids Police Department receives federal grant to continue addressing mental health needs
A federal grant of $222,345 will support the Cedar Rapids Police Department (CRPD) in its work with Foundation 2, a nonprofit human services agency, to connect individuals experiencing mental health issues to appropriate resources, instead of incarcerating them.
Michelle Martinko’s murder ‘haunted’ the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Now, her suspected killer is set to go on trial.
Dec. 19, 2018. Like every year, local news stations ran anniversary pieces describing the cold case of Michelle Martinko, an 18-year-old woman stabbed to death in Cedar Rapids in 1979. The facts of the case were recounted. A tip line scrolled across the bottom of the screen. The weather report would be next, and Martinko’s story would be
Iowa Supreme Court rules Cedar Rapids turnover records in police shooting, but sharply limits the public’s right to access other records
On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the Cedar Rapids Police Department must turn over investigative records to a man suing the city after being shot by a CRPD officer. But as part of their decision, the justices ruled police departments in Iowa
Iowa Supreme Court to decide whether Cedar Rapids must turnover investigator reports in 2016 police shooting
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a Cedar Rapids case that will determine what information the police can withhold from the public. The city of Cedar Rapids and Cedar Rapids Police Officer Lucas Jones are appealing a decision by a Linn County District Court judge that the city must turn over police […]
Cedar Rapids has banned alcohol in Greene Square Park, and is considering bans on drinking and smoking in all parks
Changes are coming to the oldest park in Cedar Rapids. Starting Saturday, alcohol will no longer be permitted in Greene Square Park. The city council unanimously approved the ban at its July 10 meeting. The vote came one month after Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman announced plans to install security cameras in the park, […]
How will the new texting while driving law be enforced, and what are your rights?
It’s been called a texting ban, but the new law impacting Iowa drivers and their phones goes beyond just texting. As of July 1, drivers are prohibited from viewing “images visible on the screen of a hand-held electronic communication device” including texts, instant messages, emails, games or websites. Viewing GPS information, as well as emergency traffic and weather alerts is still permitted.
Jerime Mitchell and wife sue city of Cedar Rapids, officer
Jerime “Danky” Mitchell of Cedar Rapids, who was shot during a traffic stop Nov 1, 2016 and consequently paralyzed from the neck down, and his wife Bracken filed a lawsuit against Officer Lucas Jones and the City of Cedar Rapids Feb. 24. A grand jury previously decided not to indict Jones.
Not to worry, the sex toys have been disposed of
A report in The Gazette followed up on a lockdown last week of a Cedar Rapids school and daycare center, when a bomb squad was called in to deal with a suspicious package. The contents of that suspicious package did very well turn out to be incendiary in some more conservative circles, but not for […]
Cedar Rapids Police warn of fake bills in Craigslist transactions
The Cedar Rapids Police Department has been investigating incidents in which counterfeit bills were received as part of Craigslist transactions, according to a press release sent out yesterday. The department warned people to look over any money received in order to avoid being bamboozled. Among the things to check for are watermarks, raised printing from […]
Concerns about discrepancies in police account, dash camera video
Members of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP and family members of Jerime “Danky” Mitchell, who was paralyzed following a Nov. 1 police shooting, voiced concerns Thursday over discrepancies they saw between the dash camera video released yesterday and the account provided by Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden during a press conference Tuesday. “We have great concerns […]

