A limited number of COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available on Monday and Tuesday as part of a vaccination event at Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids. Those appointments will be available to anyone 18 and older, Linn County Public Health announced on Sunday. The vaccine offered at the event is the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot. […]
Linn County
Homelessness was increasing in Iowa. Then COVID-19 and the derecho hit.

A total of 2,647 Iowans were homeless on a single night in January 2020, a 14.3 percent increase from January 2019. The number of people experiencing homelessness in Iowa was increasing even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came the August 2020 derecho that caused nearly $4 billion in damage, with at least $83 million of […]
Cargill will begin clearing the land for its Cedar Rapids rail yard later this month

Cargill will begin preparing the land south of Stewart Road for construction later this month, with construction running through October, officials involved with the project shared during a virtual town hall meeting. Cargill’s 50-minute virtual meeting last Wednesday was the company’s second town hall event providing information about the rail yard near the Rompot neighborhood. […]
Cargill will hold a virtual town hall meeting to provide an update on its Cedar Rapids rail yard project

Cargill will hold its second town hall meeting of the year on Wednesday to provide information about rail yard construction, which is scheduled to begin in April. Officials involved with the project will share updates to Cedar Rapids residents ahead of construction, including design developments based on the feedback residents shared during the town hall […]
Linn County creek officially renamed Wanatee Creek

The final stage in the renaming of a creek running through Linn County was completed on Friday, as the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved the changing the name from Squaw Creek to Wanatee Creek. The new name is in honor of the late Jean Adeline Morgan Wanatee, an artist and advocate for the rights […]
Linn County Public Health will begin allocating vaccine to residents with underlying medical conditions starting next week

Linn County Public Health has made “significant changes” to vaccine allocation and will begin vaccinating residents with underlying medical conditions next week, the department announced on Sunday. The Iowa Department of Health announced last Thursday that adults under 65 who have a condition the CDC recognizes as putting them at higher risk of developing severe […]
‘Extremely frustrating’: Linn County will not be receiving additional COVID-19 vaccines despite IDPH expanding eligibility

Linn County will not be receiving additional COVID-19 vaccines from the state despite the Iowa Department of Public Health expanding the number of individuals who will become eligible to be vaccinated. The Iowa Department of Health announced on Thursday that adults under 65 who have a condition the CDC recognizes as putting them at higher […]
‘This Mental Health Access Center will be a game-changer’: After years of collaboration, Linn County’s center prepares to assist first patients

While it would have been easy to put the opening of the Linn County Mental Health Access Center on hold, director Erin Foster said the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic only made it more critical for the center to open. “We saw that we cannot stop this from moving forward,” Foster, who has been […]
‘It really made an impact on much more than just this family’: Harris home added to National Register of Historic Places

The home of Cedar Rapids civil rights pioneers Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris was added to the National Register of Historic Places earlier this month, almost 60 years after the family challenged discriminatory housing practices to create that home. The house is the fourth site in Iowa honoring African American civil rights. “The site is […]
Linn County wants to know how climate change is impacting residents, what actions should be prioritized

Linn County wants to know how climate change is affecting its residents and what climate action the county should prioritize. The county’s sustainability department is collecting public input through an online survey. The survey asks how residents think about climate change and what challenges they faced during climate disaster events, including the derecho and the […]
Linn County will receive an increased number of COVID-19 vaccines through the end of February

Linn County’s vaccine allocation will increase for the remainder of February, although public health officials are still expecting it to take “weeks to months” to vaccinate residents in Phase 1B. Starting this week, the county will receive about 3,000 doses per week for the next three weeks, said Heather Meador, Linn County Public Health’s Clinical […]
Free rides to COVID-19 vaccine appointments available to Linn County residents

Linn County LIFTS is now providing free next-day rides for county residents who have a scheduled COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Individuals in need of transportation assistance who are traveling to or from a Linn County vaccine provider are eligible for a ride from Linn County LIFTS, the county announced on Monday. The rides are only for […]