A born-and-raised Cedar Rapidan, I spent the majority of my childhood in the Wellington Heights Neighborhood on the southeast side of town. Wellington Heights sits on 1st Avenue, opposite from the historic Mound View neighborhood, where you’ll find Coe College. As a result, I’ve had a lifelong front-row seat to the dilemma faced by young folks […]
Cedar Rapids Public Library
Posted inCommunity/News
The Iowa Libraries Adventure Pass program will be temporarily suspended at the end of the month
The Adventure Pass program offered by public libraries around Iowa, which provides free passes to attractions such as museums and botanical gardens, will be suspended at the end of this month. Plymouth Rocket, the software company that provides the reservation system and hosts the site for the passes, has “decided to sunset” its event registration […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids Public Library to hold groundbreaking ceremony for new Westside Library
The Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Westside Library next week. Work on the project began in 2022, when the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation acquired land for the new facility near the corner of 20th Avenue SW and Wiley Blvd SW. The Westside Library will replace the current […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Cedar Rapids Opera celebrates Juneteenth with new, kid-friendly show mixing Mozart and Charlie Parker
Since its early days, the Cedar Rapids Opera has sought to add original works to their repertoire. “I started the company 25 years ago,” said Dr. Daniel Kleinknecht, the opera’s founder, who still serves as artistic director. “It was an idea I had, kind of because in the ’80s, ’90s, so many of my friends […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
CRPL throwing a Dolly Parton birthday party to celebrate 300,000 books donated to Cedar Rapids kids
Like the hero of one of her favorite children’s books — The Little Engine That Could — Dolly Parton can. Can what? You name it. The singer-songwriter, actor, public health hero, philanthropist, theme park entrepreneur, inspiration to millions and all-around good person will turn 77 on Jan. 19. The Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation is […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids Public Library’s downtown location will reopen Thursday, though fire clean-up and repairs continue
The downtown location of the Cedar Rapids Public Library will reopen on Thursday, five weeks after damage from a fire in a lighting fixture caused it to close. That fire was quickly contained with no reported injuries, and in a statement at the time, the library said “library materials do not appear to have been […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Brock About Town: Fleeing a library fire? Child’s play.
One thing that I think is really funny about kids is how little they care about dying. I have a younger brother who, when cautioned not to drive to the gym in the middle of a historically unprecedented blizzard because of the possibility of sliding off the road into a ravine, said, “Yeah, whatever. Gotta […]
Posted inEastern Iowa Community/News
New cooling center for downtown Cedar Rapids announced, as library remains closed after fire
The main branch of the Cedar Rapids Public Library normally serves as the city’s downtown cooling center during hot weather such as Iowa has been experiencing, but the building has been closed since a fire last week. CRPL announced a replacement cooling center will open at the downtown shelter run by the community service nonprofit […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library remains closed following fire
The downtown location of the Cedar Rapids Public Library is closed following a fire on Wednesday afternoon. The fire broke out in a light fixture and was extinguished quickly, according to a statement posted on the library’s site. “The initial estimates of time it will take to reopen are still being gathered,” the library said […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
A library card could earn you a free pass to museums, gardens and more in cities across Iowa
Library cards have always allowed you to read about other people’s experiences for free, and now they can help have your own experiences. Also for free. Adults with active library cards from the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL), the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL) and the Des Moines Public Library (DMPL) — as well as […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Save CR Heritage marks its 10th anniversary amid efforts to preserve old school buildings
In October 2011, Cedar Rapids’ oldest church, the People’s Church Unitarian Universalist, was demolished. It was built in 1875 and became the first building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the city to be razed without sustaining damage from fire or natural disaster. Today, the location is an office building, housing Morgan […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Youth at Linn County’s juvenile detention center offer ‘authentic reads on young adult books’ through the Read Woke program
On a recent visit to Linn County’s Juvenile Detention Center, Cedar Rapids librarian Meredith Crawford said she asked one of the kids what kinds of books they liked to read when they were younger. Crawford was surprised when they said they hadn’t read at all before coming to the detention center. “This kid reads voraciously […]
