Post Consumer Content, a series of art installations curated by artist Louise Fisher, featured the work of five area artists over the course of five weeks in July and August. Each week, one artist displayed work outside Public Space One that took used items most would discard, and showed how art can reveal the possibilities […]
Climate Change
Posted inCommunity/News
Wilson’s Orchard evolves their image with a focus on new crops, sustainability
Since Wilson’s Apple Orchard first opened to the public 35 years ago, the visitor experience has been centered around exactly what you would expect: apples. Over the last four decades, thousands of visitors have journeyed to the orchard in autumn to pick apples, sip apple cider slushies, eat apple turnovers and buy Wilson’s merch featuring […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Yeah, 2020 sucks — but is that idea part of the problem?
Here’s a wacky idea: Our concept of a “year” is blocking our effectiveness in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. OK, bear with me. One of the most common expressions I’ve seen and heard — on social media and in real-live conversations — is that 2020 sucks. In a lot of ways that of course is true, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Climate striker Ayla Boylen isn’t letting COVID-19 stop her fight for a Green New Deal
Ayla Boylen has been striking every Friday, asking local and state leaders in Iowa to take action on climate change. She began her strike outside Cedar Rapids City Hall last fall, then changed her location to the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids on March 6. But a few days later, on March 8, the first […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids City Council passes resolution recognizing urgency for climate action
The Cedar Rapids City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday recognizing the urgency of taking action to address climate change and outlining steps for creating a community-wide sustainability plan.
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I’m still terrified for my future’: Cedar Rapids climate protesters want solutions on local, national level
Chants of “Green New Deal,” “this is what democracy looks like,” and “fossil fuels have got to go” filled the streets of Cedar Rapids on Friday night, as part of climate strikes organized around the country on Dec. 6. It was an emotional night for many, as marchers shared the reasons why they’re striking and the need for accelerated action to combat climate change. Around 120 people attended
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County Board of Supervisors declares a climate crisis ahead of Friday’s national climate strikes
The Linn County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on Wednesday declaring a climate crisis in light of increased drought and heatwaves, decrease in the bird population and flooding throughout Iowa. The action by the supervisors occurred just days before people around the country — including in Cedar Rapids — prepare for the next
Posted inCommunity/News
The Pentacrest larch, embracing grief and taking action
I saw the fallen larch early on the morning of Sept. 10 as I walked from the bus to my office in Jessup Hall. My eyes widened and my spirits dropped as, from a distance, I saw the tree lying flat on the ground. I audibly said, “Oh no.” Before I went to work, and before the remains of the tree would be gathered and taken away by university personnel
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Student Climate Strike wants the community to join its ‘roving climate strikes’
Two weeks after their rally with Greta Thunberg brought downtown Iowa City to a standstill, the organizers of the Iowa City Student Climate Strike (ICSCS) want to go mobile with their strike, with people all across Iowa City joining in. “Last week we started our roving climate strikes, where we’re just trying to go from one place to another,”
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids breaks ground on the next phase of its flood control system
Fifteen months after securing $117 million in federal funding for its flood control system, Cedar Rapids held a groundbreaking ceremony for the first project paid for by that money, the 16th Avenue SE floodgate. City officials were joined by U.S. senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, Rep. Abby Finkenauer and officers from the Army Corps of Engineers for the ceremony at Lion Bridge on Tuesday afternoon.
Posted inCommunity/News
Climate activist Greta Thunberg will be in Iowa City on Friday (Updated)
Greta Thunberg, the 16 year-old Swedish activist who has become an international leader in the fight against climate change, will be in Iowa City on Friday. She will join the local activists in the Iowa City Student Climate Strike for an event on Ped Mall. The Iowa City Student Climate Strike is led by City High classmates Massimo Biggers and Alex Howe (who were Southeast Junior High students when they began their demonstrations). The pair have cited Thunberg as an inspiration
Posted inCommunity/News
ICCSD looks to reduce carbon footprint, following weeks of student protests
Change doesn’t happen overnight. For students in the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD), change took 11 weeks of protest every Friday during school hours, and appearing before the school board to express their concerns about climate change.
