October 2018

Open House: Tower Terrace Road Corridor Management Plan Update

The Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is in the process of updating the original Tower Terrace Road Corridor Management Plan. As part of this update, an open house will be held Tuesday, October 30 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. to provide information and gather feedback from the public. The meeting will be held in the Community Center at Hiawatha City Hall, 101 Emmons Street, and will be an open house format with identical presentations at 5:15 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The purpose of this plan is to revisit the goals and objectives identified in the 2010 plan to confirm their application to the current vision of the jurisdictions along the corridor. Additionally, this plan builds upon and supplements the work originally done for the Tower Terrace Road Corridor Management Plan, taking it to the next step to provide a more robust implementation plan.

The implementation plan includes:

Phasing the corridor into financially manageable sized construction projects,
Developing conceptual plans and cost estimates for each project,
Assigning priority for each project,
Identifying funding sources, and
Developing an implementation schedule.

This update involves many jurisdictions and agencies, including:

City of Hiawatha
City of Robins
City of Cedar Rapids
Linn County
City of Marion
Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT)

More information is available on the MPO Facebook event page.

Tower Terrace Plan Open House Invitation

Linn County Public Health Releases FY18 Annual Report

At a joint meeting on Friday, October 12, Linn County Board of Health Chair Mark Taylor and Linn County Board of Supervisor Chair John Harris jointly released the Linn County Public Health (LCPH) FY18 Annual Report.

Highlights from the FY18 Annual Report include:

Receiving the 2018 Local Health Department of the Year award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) as a medium size local health department
Groundbreaking of the Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris Building – the future home of Linn County Public Health and Child and Youth Development Services
Launching the LCPH 2018-2020 Strategic Plan
Completion of the 2018 Community Health Assessment

Learn about these accomplishments and more in the Linn County Public Health Annual Report.

Linn County to Participate in National Drug "Take-Back" Day

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office will be collaborating with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. The Sheriff’s Office will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at three different locations throughout Linn County from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. This free, anonymous service will help keep your home safe and could even save lives.

The three collection sites hosted by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office are:

Central City Fire Station - 137 N. 4th St, Central City
Linn County Sheriff’s Office (West Lot) - 310 2nd Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids
Springville Fire Station - 300 Broadway St., Springville

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Take Back Day event, visit the DEA Diversion website.

Help the Linn County Sheriff's Office Win a K9 Grant

The Linn County Sheriff's Office is competing against other K9 divisions throughout the country for one of eight Aftermath K9 Grants. The funding, if received, can be used toward a new canine, officer training, program maintenance, medical expenses or specialized equipment.

Help the department win a grant by voting on the grant website. Votes can be cast every 12 hours through November 2.

Mental Health, Obesity, and Safety Identified as Top Health Issues in Linn County

The Together! Healthy Linn Steering Committee, which oversees and guides the Linn County Community Health Improvement Plan, has identified mental health, obesity and safety as the top three health related issues to focus on from 2019 through 2021. The selection of these three issues are based on the results of the 2018 Community Health Assessment, completed in July 2018.

Over the past year, Linn County Public Health has collaborated with nearly 70 community partners including non-profit, business, faith and government organizations to gain insight on issues impacting the Linn County community’s health and well-being.

Community members are invited to join work groups, which will identify goals and strategies for each of the issues. Meeting dates and times for each issue are:

• Mental Health: October 23, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.

• Obesity: October 31, 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

• Safety: November 8, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

RSVP’s are required and may be submitted by completing this survey. Learn more about Together! Healthy Linn by visiting the Together! Healthy Linn website.

Take the Pinicon Ridge Park Playground Survey

Linn County Conservation is in the design phase of a playground redevelopment project at Pinicon Ridge Park. The original riverside playground was first developed in the late 1960's with several features added and removed over time. This area will be replaced with a new ADA accessible and inclusive playground that will include a rubber safety surface. Visit the conservation website to find out more and to take the online survey. Survey concludes Friday, October 26.

Voting Underway for November 6 General Election

Absentee/early voting began October 8 for the November 6 General Election. Voters may choose to vote in four ways:

In-person at the Linn County Auditor’s Office
In-person at a variety of satellite voting locations
In-person on election day at their voting location
By mail

The Linn County Elections Office, at 935 Second St. SW in Cedar Rapids, will be open for voting from October 8 - November 5. Hours are:

Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 27 & Saturday, November 3 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and
Tuesday, October 30 & Thursday, November 1 for extended hours until 7 p.m.

For more information about this election, visit LinnCounty.org/ElectionServices.

Linn County Offices Closed for the Upcoming Holidays

Linn County governmental offices will be closed on the dates below for the following holidays:

Monday, November 12 for Veterans Day
Thursday, November 22 for Thanksgiving
Friday, November 23 for the day after Thanksgiving

The following services will continue to operate:

Juvenile Detention and Diversion Services
The Sheriff’s Office will be closed; however, continuous operations will be available for routine and emergency responses, including the Patrol Division, Communications Division and the Correctional Center. In an emergency, always dial 911.
LIFTS will run abbreviated routes on November 12 and November 23.

Vehicle registrations can be renewed online at any time at www.iowataxandtags.gov.

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