CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — More details have been uncovered about U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to install fencing in an area where advocates have been peaceably gathering outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office. Plans call for approximately 350 linear feet of new 10-foot-high galvanized fencing with privacy netting to the northwest […]
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Year: 2026
Photos: Winter Gardening Fair 2026
HIAWATHA, Iowa — After record-high temperatures earlier this week, Mother Nature put the “winter” back in Iowa, in time for the annual Winter Gardening Fair. Fortunately, with below-freezing temperatures and a new layer of snow on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, the popular event, hosted by the Linn County Master Gardeners, is held indoors. Succulent cuttings […]
Tale of two (Dairy) Queens
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Two of the last original walk-up Dairy Queens in Cedar Rapids are taking divergent paths. One, at 3304 First Ave. NE, has closed and will not reopen after owner Jill Muckler died last year. She had been the third-generation owner of the popular spot, where customers of all ages — sometimes […]
Plant shop breathes new life into former...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The mansion on a busy stretch of Cedar Rapids has undergone a number of “reincarnations” in its history, from a home to a mortuary to a variety of restaurants, with the latest iteration starting a new chapter as a plant shop. Crazy Plant Gal opened Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at 821 […]
Parking structure in Cedar Rapids First ...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A parking structure labeled where the long-vacant Hy-Vee is located in redevelopment plans for First Avenue has led to a clarification from the city of Cedar Rapids. Community advocate Sophia Joseph drew attention to the parking structure in the plans, which were presented during an open house by the city on […]
Cedar Rapids School Board takes two-high...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — In another lengthy meeting of the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board of Education, community members continued to make their voices heard. More than 20 people addressed the board during a five-hour meeting on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, but with only 3 minutes allotted per person, the public comment period lasted […]
Learn how to create a pocket prairie bef...
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Before this Sunday’s Super Bowl game, gardeners can learn a better use for turf grass space in creating a pocket prairie during Project GREEN’s Second Sunday Garden Forum at the Iowa City Public Library. The event, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, is free and open to the public. If […]
Trees planted down middle of First Avenu...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A tree-lined median down the center of First Avenue East is among the options under consideration for a portion of the major thoroughfare, as Cedar Rapids prepares to present its First Avenue Corridor Redevelopment Plan. Residents are invited to an open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, […]
Hundreds gather for ICE observer trainin...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Andrea Layne made the trip from North Liberty to learn more about her rights to legally document immigration enforcement, in reaction to the killings of two observers this month in Minneapolis and an arrest closer to home last fall. “It raised my level of awareness,” Layne said of the September 2025 […]
“This is wild” Cedar Rapids School Board
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Another full house faced the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board of Education as school closures and “redesign” decisions loom. The board did not vote at its Jan. 26, 2026, meeting, but 35 residents — including a number of students — spoke about potential closures. Board members also heard three options […]