By Andrew Dunn, Iowa City Councilor At-Large Confusion has long been a staple of Iowa City’s local elections. The Iowa City Council has two types of councilors, all elected to four-year terms. First, we have four at-large councilors that the entire city elects. Our four at-large councilors have no restrictions on where they can live […]
Iowa City Council
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Election roundup: History is made in DSM and CR, an incumbent defeats an incumbent in IC, school board voters send a message, bond votes go both ways
There were some history-making victories in the city and school board elections on Tuesday, as voters in Des Moines elected the city’s first woman mayor and, in Cedar Rapids, a member of the LGBTQ community won a seat on the city council for the first time. But for the most part, Tuesday’s elections followed the […]
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Laura Bergus and Pauline Taylor finish first and second in District A primary, will be on November ballot in Iowa City
Current Iowa City councilmembers Laura Bergus and Pauline Taylor will be on the ballot for the council seat in District A in the November election after finishing first and second, respectively, in Tuesday’s primary election. Bergus finished far ahead of Taylor and the other candidate in the race, Tim Borchardt. Bergus received 58.4 percent of […]
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Iowa City relaxes (some) rules around keeping yard chickens
Eleven years after first allowing Iowa City homeowners to keep a few chickens in their backyard, the Iowa City Council has approved several major changes to the city’s urban chicken ordinance. The changes approved on Tuesday included increasing the number of yardbirds allowed in a yard — from four hens to six — and whose […]
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Iowa City Council now accepting applications to fill its upcoming vacancy
Iowa City is now accepting applications for the upcoming vacancy on the city council that will happen when at-large member Janice Weiner steps down at the beginning of next year. Weiner submitted her resignation after winning election to the Iowa Senate in a landslide victory in this month’s general election. The resignation takes effect on […]
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Iowa City leaders weigh truth, justice and hurt feelings as TRC chair Amel Ali is suspended over offensive comments
Iowa City’s Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) voted 7-0 to temporarily remove Amel Ali as its chair during the commission’s regular meeting on Thursday night. The vote to suspend Ali as chair came the same day the Iowa City Council held a special session to consider removing Ali from the TRC. Council members […]
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Iowa City pools: City Park is seeping, rec center swimmers fight likely closure and Mercer may be heating up
The Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department has recommended closing the 58-year-old pool at Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center, and instead adding a warm water pool at Mercer Park Aquatic Center and Scanlon Gym, as part of its Gather Here Recreation Master Plan. The plan also includes a redesign of City Park pool, introducing […]
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After years of delay, the Forest View relocation program begins to move forward
Cindy Onnen has lived in Forest View Mobile Home Court for half a century. She moved there with her husband and 2-year-old son in 1971, when the rent was $25. “It went up to $35 the next month, and I was mad. Gosh, to say that now, people would say, ‘Really? You’re that old?’” Onnen […]
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Affordable housing, art and excellent tacos: Angie Jordan is leading efforts to build up Iowa City’s South District
Angie Jordan believes every neighborhood has doers. But Iowa City’s South District is chock full of them. “This is a daily grind,” said Jordan, president of the South District Neighborhood Association. “This isn’t something one person did or one organization did. This was a forever commitment that started in the neighborhood with those who wanted […]
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Iowa City Council creates new rules governing meetings and addressing disruptions
The Iowa City Council unanimously adopted a new set of procedural rules for its meetings, including sanctions for rule breakers, during its March 22 meeting. While most of the rules cover routine conduct and meeting structure, six of the 36 rules govern public participation during meetings. The rules stipulate that the public can address the […]
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For Sudanese immigrants in Iowa City, visiting home is a long, expensive and all too rare privilege
When Dalia Musa moved to the United States, her youngest child was in the second grade. Musa, a mother of three, emigrated from Sudan in 2013. By the time her family traveled back to Sudan, her children were high schoolers. “They didn’t see their family since the elementary, and when they come back, they are […]
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CommUnity is expanding its fleet of crisis responders, providing an alternative to 911 for locals in mental health crises
CommUnity’s Mobile Crisis Outreach program is getting a new fleet of eight vehicles, as well as three full-time counselors, thanks to a nearly $1 million grant from Iowa City. The addition of staff and vehicles will shorten response times in the area. Since 2015, the mobile crisis program has dispatched mental health counselors all across […]
