Registered voters in Iowa can now request absentee ballots for the June 2 primary election from their county auditor’s office. The first day auditors can mail the ballots to voters who have requested them will be May 13, the same day early in-person voting begins. Printable absentee ballot request forms are available on the Iowa […]
Johnson County Board of Supervisors
Posted inCommunity/News
‘People are hungry — starving — for principled leadership’: Jon Green on his decision not to honor Charlie Kirk in Johnson County
At the beginning of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors work session on Wednesday, Board Chair Jon Green noted that it was Constitution Day, the annual national commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1789 by the members of the convention that drafted it. The work session was also happening one […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Relatively minor’ and decreasing: Supervisors receive report on the status of Johnson County’s main groundwater source
The title of the report presented to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors during its work session on Wednesday was very technical: “Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the Silurian Aquifer, Eastern Iowa (2020–2045).” That was appropriate given the complex nature of its subject matter. But the report’s ultimate message about the groundwater supply much of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Tuesday’s primary: Lanon Baccam wins big in IA-03, incumbent supervisors in Polk and Johnson counties defeated
Democrat Lanon Baccam won a landslide victory in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, and the Republican incumbents in the 1st and 4th Districts who faced challengers on Tuesday both won. Incumbents typically win primary elections in Iowa, but a Republican supervisor in Polk County and a Democratic supervisor in Johnson County were defeated in their primary […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Adam Zabner: Rod Sullivan is one of the good ones
By Adam Zabner, Iowa City Iowa needs more compassionate, strong leaders. Supervisor Rod Sullivan is one of the good ones and has earned my support. Rod is a fighter. He has helped our county innovate and he’s not afraid to ruffle feathers in Des Moines. While our state government has failed to provide adequate mental […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Cresting at the right time’: Franken wins, Reynolds forsakes fellow Republicans, and other takeaways from the primary election
Retired Adm. Mike Franken easily defeated Abby Finkenauer to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in what was the highest profile contested race in the nation on Tuesday. Franken won 55.2 percent of the vote and carried 76 of Iowa’s 99 counties, including Johnson and Linn, according to the unofficial totals published by the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Record number of Iowans test positive for COVID; Gov. Reynolds says cases are undercounted, but doesn’t think state needs to reopen test sites
In its weekly COVID-19 update on Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported the highest number of new cases of the virus during a seven-day period since the first cases were discovered in the state in March 2020. According to IDPH, another 38,574 Iowans tested positive from Jan. 12-18. But in an interview with […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Iowa surpasses 8,000 deaths; Gov. Reynolds says Iowa is ‘better off’ because of her policies
Johnson County Public Health suspended its routine case investigation and contact tracing for newly reported cases of COVID-19 because the ongoing surge in virus spread has overwhelmed its ability to conduct those investigations and tracing in an effective manner. “During the past week, there has been a 250% increase in cases from the previous week,” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Royceann Porter appointed chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors
Supervisor Royceann Porter was appointed chairperson of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for 2022 in a vote that took less than a minute at the board’s organizational meeting Monday. But the unanimous selection of Porter by her fellow supervisors was not a routine vote, as the county made clear in a news release issued […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Iowa adds 13,000 new cases; Gov. Reynolds celebrates legal win; Johnson County passes new mandate
Over the last seven days, Iowa hit new highs for the year in the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the number of patients hospitalized with the virus, according to the latest weekly update from the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH reported 13,039 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, a significant jump […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Johnson County will hold its final public input session on how to spend ARPA funds Wednesday evening
At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Johnson County will hold its final public input session on how to use the $29.3 million in federal funds the county has been allocated through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which President Biden signed into law in March. Five previous sessions have been held at various locations around the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
With COVID cases hitting ‘high’ mark, face masks are now required in Johnson County municipal buildings
Johnson County now requires anyone entering a county-owned building to wear a face mask in response to the surge in new COVID-19 cases in Iowa caused by the highly contagious Delta variant. The county joins Linn County, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty, which had already enacted mask mandates for their municipal buildings. […]
