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
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
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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 […]
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Five Linn County school superintendents ask Gov. Reynolds to prioritize vaccinating school staff
Five Linn County school superintendents sent a joint letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday asking for additional COVID-19 vaccine doses to be allocated to the state’s priority populations in light of the Feb. 15 deadline for school districts to provide all in-person instruction. The superintendents ask state officials to reallocate 64,000 doses of vaccine […]
Posted inCommunity/News, COVID-19
Linn County will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine to residents 65 and older starting Tuesday
Linn County residents 65 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting on Tuesday, but vaccine supply remains limited, Linn County Public Health officials announced Monday. MercyCare clinics, UnityPoint Health Clinics and various independent healthcare providers will begin contacting patients on Monday to provide an opportunity to schedule a vaccination appointment. Residents […]
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Cargill expects its Cedar Rapids rail yard to be operational by November
Cargill’s Cedar Rapids rail yard is expected to be operational by November, officials involved with the project shared during a virtual town hall meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was scheduled by Cargill to give residents an update on the construction timeline and an opportunity to provide feedback on the design and placement of the sound […]
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Cargill will provide an update to Cedar Rapids residents on Wednesday about rail yard plans
Cargill will be updating Cedar Rapids residents on Wednesday about the planned rail yard in the Rompot neighborhood. The company is also soliciting feedback from people in the neighborhood “on specific design elements of the rail yard,” according to a letter sent to Rompot residents in late December and posted on the city of Cedar […]
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Five Iowans share how forgiveness of student loan debt would impact them
About 420,000 Iowans owed a combined total of $12.8 billion in student debt, as of September 2020. The average amount for Iowans with student loan debt was $30,500. People in Iowa are more likely to have student loan debt but owe “significantly less on average” compared to individuals in other states, according to data and […]
Posted inCommunity/News, COVID-19
Linn County has only received an ‘extremely limited’ supply of COVID-19 vaccine, health officials say
Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are arriving in Iowa and Linn County “very slowly,” and supply of the vaccine is “extremely limited,” according to Linn County Public Health. County public health and medical officials from the local hospitals urged residents during a LCPH news conference to remain patient as it might take the county longer […]
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Linn County introduces marijuana diversion program
Individuals charged with marijuana possession in Linn County who don’t have a criminal record may be eligible for the county’s new marijuana diversion program. However, it’s unclear whether or not the program will address the county’s racial disparities for marijuana arrests. Linn County announced the marijuana diversion program was on Dec. 28, and it went […]
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Linn County climate czar Tamara Marcus reflects on derecho impact, lays out sustainability plans for 2021 and beyond
The Aug. 10 derecho showed why environmental justice and listening to the voices of those most vulnerable to climate change are important, said Linn County Sustainability Program Manager Tamara Marcus. Last month, the Linn County Board of Supervisors adopted a climate resolution that calls for the prioritization of the voices of vulnerable communities in Linn […]
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Healthcare workers in Linn County begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine
Two Linn County hospitals received their first allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, Linn County Public Health (LCPH) announced in a news release. Mercy Medical Center and UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital each received 975 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to distribute to frontline healthcare workers as part of the first phase of vaccine distribution. […]
