When it hasn’t been ignored, Indian Creek has been an afterthought the past 150 years – something to be bridged, channeled, and drained into. It’s been getting more attention this year, and along its upper reaches some are starting to see the stream differently – as a sort of linear nature preserve through the...
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MARION- A long-planned Marion street project that could take 10 years to complete finally got underway Thursday with a ceremonial first step. The Marion Central Corridor project will eventually link 6th Avenue with 7th Avenue in Marion.  The idea is to provide a way for through traffic to get around the busy commercial street...
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After years of debate and planning, the decades-long project to remake central Marion is about to take its first steps. “It’s probably time that we kind of cleaned up the downtown area a little,” said Lee Larson, owner of Irwins Clothing. The renovation of four blocks of Sixth Avenue near City Square Park, to...
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Plans for a youth baseball facility at the Field of Dreams movie site compliment rather than compete with a similar complex planned for Linn County, according to backers of the local project. “We’re getting that question a lot,” said Jerry Akers, co-chairman of fundraising for the Prospect Meadows project, told the Marion City Council...
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MARION- Thousands of visitors flock to events like the Swamp Fox Festival and Marion by Moonlight every year. And members of the Marion City Council should take the first step Thursday night to rein in one particular problem with vendors. City Park on the square in downtown Marion is the site for most of...
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Marion’s ambitious plan to transform  its downtown area is set to take its first steps. The final public hearing on Phase 1 of the Central Corridor project is on the agenda for Thursday’s city council meeting. Immediately after the hearing the council will vote to award a contract for improvements along Sixth Avenue between...
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Don’t look for one big answer to what ails Indian Creek. “We’ve got to look for bite-sized solutions,” said Rick Sandstrom. “Let’s succeed early, and let’s get the message out there.” Sandstrom, a Marion resident living along the stream, was one of about 45 people who spent Thursday afternoon brainstorming ways to improve the...
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Taxes often hog the spotlight, but a pension system for police officers and firefighters has been getting a lot of attention in recent weeks as Iowa towns put the finishing touches on their annual budgets. The Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa, or MFPRSI, is in place in 49 of Iowa’s larger...
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DES MOINES – The Iowa Senate voted 50-0 to establish a cost-sharing approach toward flood protection and rebuilding efforts in Iowa communities. Senate File 2217 would establish a 10-year state flood mitigation program capped at $30 million annually in state sales tax revenue with a maximum award of up to $15 million a year...
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A Florida firm has agreed to a proposed contract with Marion for a plasma-arc waste-to-energy plant. City Manager Lon Pluckhahn said officers of Plasma Power LLC have agreed to three conditions the council attached to its approval of the contract Monday night. The council voted 5-1, with member Louis Stark absent and Mayor Allen...
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