Linn County Buildings Now Open By Appointment

Linn County offices are open to the public on an appointment-only basis as part of a phased approach to reopening with modifications to keep employees and customers safe. Linn County’s top priority remains the safety of employees and the public. The County will continue to evaluate operations and adjust services and safety measures as needed.
 
Anyone entering County buildings will be required to wear a face covering and social distance. COVID-19 symptom screening will also be in place.

Additional information about the County reopening and appointment scheduling is available on the Linn County website.

Interactive Dashboard Tracks COVID-19 Key Indicators

Linn County Public Health is posting daily updates on its COVID-19 Mapping Database, which is a graphic dashboard of COVID-19 key indicators including: number of confirmed cases (by age, gender, race, and ethnicity), a map of confirmed cases by zip code, a graph of confirmed cases by date, positivity rates, hospitalizations, recoveries, and deaths.

Residents are urged to use the dashboard to understand the magnitude and impact of COVID-19 within Linn County and the State of Iowa, and the importance of preventing the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing, wearing face coverings, and washing hands often.

The dashboard is populated with information from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the ESRI Living Atlas.

Allow extra time for the dashboard to load when using a mobile device.

Find additional COVID-19 information at LinnCounty.org/COVID-19. 

Request Your Absentee Ballot Now for the November Election

Due to COVID-19, the Linn County Auditor’s Office strongly encourages voters to vote by mail. To support this, the Auditor’s Office is mailing absentee request forms to approximately 145,000 active, registered voters in Linn County. Return your request form in the postage paid envelope. As an alternative to mail, the Linn County Auditor’s Office has four secure drop boxes for voters to deposit their absentee ballot request forms and ballots. The drop box locations include:

• Linn County Public Service Center, 935 2^nd St. SW, Cedar Rapids 
• Marion Hy-Vee, 3600 Business Highway 151, Marion
• Edgewood Hy-Vee, 5050 Edgewood Rd NE, Cedar Rapids 
• Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee, 1843 Johnson Ave NW, Cedar Rapids

In accordance with state law, the Auditor’s Office will mail ballots starting October 5.
 
In-person voting locations will be open on election day, November 3. However, Due to COVID-19, Linn County will be combining locations, so many regular voting locations will change. In October, the Linn County Auditor’s Office will mail postcards to voters indicating the correct election day polling location. 
 
Visit LinnCounty.org/Vote for more information.

Colonel John Stuelke Retires After 38 Years 

After 38 years of employment with Linn County, Colonel John Stuelke, Chief Deputy of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, retired June 30, 2020. Colonel Stuelke began his career as a Reserve Police Officer with the Marion Police Department at the age of 18 while a senior at Marion High School. After two years, in July of 1982, he was hired as a deputy sheriff with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. In August of 1990, Deputy Stuelke became one of the first two K9 Deputies for the Sheriff’s Office. He was partnered with Chabo, a Belgian Malanois, who was cross-trained in explosives detection, handler protection, and tracking. Stuelke rose through the ranks being promoted from deputy to Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Colonel.
 
In addition to working at the Sheriff’s Office, in the early to late 1980’s Stuelke also spent time working part-time for the Center Point Police Department and he was a member of the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department, where he served as Chief of the Department for four years. He also has served on the Center Point City Council for 24 years, serving four of those years as mayor.

Douglas Riniker Appointed Chief Deputy 

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner has appointed Douglas A. Riniker, a 25-year employee of the Office, to serve as his Chief Deputy effective July 1, 2020. Riniker started his career with the Sheriff’s Office in 1995, working as a deputy in the Linn County Correctional Center. Deputy Riniker transferred to the Patrol Division in 2001. In 2006, Deputy Riniker was promoted to sergeant and was assigned duty as a supervisor working in the Linn County Correctional Center. When Sheriff Gardner took office on January 2, 2009, he appointed Riniker as one of his Second Deputies with the rank of Major. Major Riniker was directly responsible for the Finance Division and also had responsibility for overseeing the Civil Division. Colonel Riniker is replacing longtime Sheriff’s Office employee Colonel John Stuelke, who retired after 38 years of employment on June 30.