CEDAR RAPIDS — One year ago, the long-running St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a beloved tradition in Cedar Rapids, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, then in its early days. The parade, which would have marked its 45th year in 2020, attracts thousands of spectators and participants to downtown Cedar Rapids on St. Patrick’s Day, […]
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Old calendar factory in Washington, Iowa...
By Cindy Hadish WASHINGTON, Iowa — The former McCleery Calendar Factory building — a company that went from one of the country’s largest manufacturers of religious calendars to becoming exclusive producers of Hugh Hefner’s line of Playboy calendars — could soon see a new chapter. A group of investors has purchased the two-story brick building […]
Delete 2020: A year in review that no on...
No one can be blamed for wanting to delete 2020. Instead of looking for the silver lining, let’s just take it for what it was with this look back on the year many of us would like to erase. The year was already off to a sad start for residents in southeast Cedar Rapids, whose […]
Force of Nature: photos from Iowa’s dere
(NOTE: Story/photos will be updated as electricity/Internet become available) UPDATED: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14, with more photos; comments from Stacey Walker Dutch elm disease and invasive pests such as emerald ash borer change landscapes over time, but the Aug. 10, 2020, derecho windstorm that swept through Iowa with hurricane-force winds dramatically altered many parts of […]
Photos: Thousands march for justice in C...
CEDAR RAPIDS — A peaceful protest turned out as planned, as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Cedar Rapids. “Please march with us as we peacefully protest the heartbreaking and infuriating racism, inequality, and murder experienced by George Floyd and too many others,” organizers Nicole LeGrand, Tamara Marcus and Leslie Neely posted […]
Traditional flower of Memorial Day flour...
By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan What started as a hobby has grown into something much more for Mary and Brian Grimm. “I’d call it an addiction,” Mary said of the couple’s 700 different varieties of peonies planted at their acreage in rural Lamont, in northeastern Iowa. When they relocated from Strawberry Point in 2011, the Grimms […]
Photos: Cruisin’ the Avenue in Cedar Rap
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Windows down, music blaring, engines revving. Hundreds of hot rods, classic cars, motorcycles, vans, trucks, and convertibles with their tops down, took to First Avenue in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night, May 2, 2020, in a throwback to the past, with a social distancing twist. Cruisin’ the Avenue was a rite […]
Looking back: Cedar Rapids Cultural Cele...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Just before social distancing became de rigueur, the Czech Heritage Foundation was among organizations to participate in the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s Community Cultural Celebration & Expo. The event, held March 7, serves as an illustrative example that understanding our differences can bring us closer together. Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart […]
“Overwhelming need” as long line waits f
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The first vehicle arrived at 8:30 a.m. to wait for a “drive-through” food pantry opening at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at the Veterans Memorial Stadium parking lot. HACAP Food Reservoir offers a regular mobile food pantry, but this was the first wide-scale food giveaway held in response to needs related […]
Messages offer hope in signs of the time...
In these exceptionally trying times, as social distancing is encouraged and isolation becomes the norm, tiny signs of hope are emerging. Whether hand-written messages in business windows or chalk drawings on neighborhood sidewalks, Iowans are extending support to each other in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Related: Residents of Cedar Rapids nursing home test […]