To help celebrate National County Government Month, Linn County held a public open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Linn County Courthouse at 51 3rd Avenue Bridge in Cedar Rapids on April 29. The Courthouse is the final Linn County building to fully re-open following the 2008 flood.
The ceremony included remarks from Linn County Board of Supervisor Chairperson Lu Barron, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden, and Sixth Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Grady.
“We are excited to officially celebrate the re-opening and remodeling of the Linn County Courthouse and to celebrate the completion of Linn County’s flood recovery efforts,” said Lu Barron, Chairperson of the Linn County Board of Supervisors.
Many improvements have been made to the Courthouse during the reconstruction, including flood mitigation and reorganizing the layout of offices and courtrooms to better serve the public. The lower level of the Courthouse was reconstructed as courtrooms instead of replacing the offices and storage areas that were flooded in 2008. Offices, courtrooms, and work areas on the upper floors were reconstructed to make the best use of space throughout the Courthouse.
The Linn County Courthouse did reopen in October 2008; however, the remodeling and flood mitigation improvements were ongoing even while being open to the public. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the completion of the improvements and remodeling.
The Courthouse houses the criminal division of the Linn County Attorney’s Office, clerk of court offices and employees of the State’s Sixth Judicial District.