U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley doesn’t expect much progress on cutting the federal deficit this election year. “It’s very hard to see a way forward in this environment,” Braley told The Gazette’s editorial board this afternoon. It’s not impossible: Braley cited his experience last spring with four townhall meetings organized with help from the nonpartisan...
Read more »

LINN COUNTY- For the first time in almost 30 years, some Linn County commercial property owners could have to pay thousands more in property taxes.  That’s because the county assessor says there hasn’t been a complete re-appraisal since 1983.  Property owners outside Cedar Rapids city limits could face dramatic increases in taxes for 2013-2014....
Read more »

Linn County supervisors voted today to end a longevity bonus to Sheriff Brian Gardner’s second in command. Prompted by County Auditor Joel Miller, the supervisors voted unanimously to re-affirm a 1998 policy that ended longevity pay for elected officials and their appointed deputies. Sheriff’s Col. John Stuelke, appointed chief deputy by Gardner, had continued...
Read more »

Mayor Ron Corbett will announce a new naming rights agreement for the city’s U.S. Cellular Center at his noon-time State of City speech at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. The new agreement is a 10-year one, which will bring in a total of $3.8 million over the period. The current deal with U.S. Cellular...
Read more »

State lawmakers have approved restoring $7.2 million in state aid to counties for mental health services, a move that will reduce Linn County’s planned property tax levy by a nickel. An amendment approved by both the House and Senate would direct the money from the Economic Emergency Fund to restore the property tax relief...
Read more »

DES MOINES – Judgment week in the Iowa Legislature left a number of hoped-for bills in ashes on Wednesday. House subcommittees opened the day by pulling the plug on measures that would have created a crime for failing to report a missing child, mandated that employers grant up to 200 hours of unpaid leave...
Read more »

CEDAR RAPIDS – Mayor Ron Corbett will give his third state of the city address Wednesday afternoon. It’s an annual luncheon held by the League of Women Voters of Cedar Rapids and Marion to keep the community involved in local government. The mayor will speak inside the ballroom at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center. He has a...
Read more »

DES MOINES – A district judge “got it right” when he ruled as invalid Gov. Terry Branstad’s veto that effectively closed 36 workforce centers last year and the Iowa Supreme Court should not allow the governor to succeed in reversing that order, an attorney representing a group of Democratic legislators and a labor union...
Read more »

IOWA CITY – Developers interested in student housing projects in Iowa City got some relief Tuesday night, but it likely will be short lived. The City Council delayed setting public hearings on two proposals aimed at addressing concerns over large apartments in neighborhoods near downtown and the University of Iowa campus. One would prevent...
Read more »

Iowa City – In a tight vote Tuesday night, the Iowa City council voted to move forward with an initiative to add red light cameras. The council voted for the third and final time in favor of adding the cameras.  Rick Dobyns, Terry Dickens, Susan Mims and Mayor Matt Hayek voted for the initiative. ...
Read more »