The man who drove his pickup truck into protesters crossing a street in Cedar Rapids in June pleaded not guilty to both crimes with which he has been charged. Several weeks after the incident, David Huston of Swisher was charged with Assault While Displaying a Dangerous Weapon and Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury […]
Stacey Walker
Posted inEastern Iowa Community/News
Man drives his truck into protesters marching for abortion rights in Cedar Rapids
A man drove his pickup truck into protesters crossing a street in Cedar Rapids on Friday night. This happened at the end of a march in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion, as protesters who had gathered for a rally and march […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Breanna Oxley will run for Linn County Board of Supervisors instead of Iowa Senate
Breanna Oxley, who launched a campaign in June for the Cedar Rapids-based Iowa Senate seat soon to be vacated by Rob Hogg, announced on Friday she will run for the Linn County Board of Supervisors instead. “After much encouragement and many calls, I decided that I will be running for Linn County Supervisor!” Oxley said […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Stacey Walker will not run for reelection to the Linn County Board of Supervisors
Stacey Walker announced on Wednesday he has decided not to run for reelection to the Linn County Board of Supervisors. “At this point in my life, it is time for me to make space for new leaders, and to pursue other opportunities,” Walker, who currently serves as chair of the board, said in a written […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A loophole in Iowa’s anti-mask law? Linn County Board of Health makes a suggestion as Delta spikes, especially among kids
“This is serious,” Dr. Pramod Dwivedi, health director of Linn County Public Health, said of the impact of the Delta variant in Linn County. “Last week, 605 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in our county,” Dwivedi said during Wednesday morning’s news conference with Linn County Supervisor Stacey Walker and Leslie Wright, chair of the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Revolution and Beatitudes of Black Liberation: A video essay by Stacey Walker
Produced by Little Village in partnership with Witching Hour and Englert Wavelength Below is an excerpt from Walker’s essay, published in Little Village’s February 2021 issue. What is Black Liberation? What does it mean to be free? Black people have been fighting for liberation since we arrived on the shores of what would come to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Nothing is real until it happens’: Stacey Walker on being a ‘foot soldier’ for racial justice reform
A month out from the 2020 Witching Hour festival, presenter Stacey Walker isn’t exactly sure what he will say to attendees. But that’s not for lack of something to say. “As a Black man, as an elected official, as a person who has been involved in racial justice politics for my entire life, I know […]
Posted inUncategorized
‘This is a moral moment for the world’: Images from the protests in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City
“Understand the largeness of this moment,” Stacey Walker told the people gathered in Greene Square Park on Saturday, June 6. “These will be the pictures our kids see in the history books. We know in our hearts, in our souls, that this is a moral moment for the world.” More than 2,000 people had come […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County reports increase in community spread of COVID-19; local officials preparing for a second wave of the virus
Linn County has seen an increase in community spread of COVID-19, Heather Meador, Linn County Public Health’s supervisor of Clinical Services, said during a press conference on Monday. More than half of the newly reported cases of the virus over the weekend were connected to community spread, according to Meador. “This is a clear indication […]
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
‘Don’t let this remarkable story ever die’: The Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris Building in Cedar Rapids is now open
When his mother was growing up, she vowed she’d never marry a doctor, Peter Harris said. Lileah Furgerson was the daughter of a doctor, and knew the long hours they worked. The audience at the dedication ceremony for the new Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris building laughed when Peter mentioned his mother’s vow. Lileah did, in fact, end up marrying a doctor: Percy Harris, the first black physician in Cedar Rapids. The couple
