Stories

Incumbents were sharply rebuked Tuesday night in elections all over Iowa, matching a national trend that’s giving Republicans a glimmer of hope going into 2010. Iowa’s municipal elections are non-partisan, so it will be hard for either party to claim victory. But after years of Democratic dominance of election night, an evening where most high-profile races saw incumbents roundly rebuked is being celebrated in Republican circles.

Roughly 25 people observed as six of 22 possible Republican delegates from Iowa House District 33 decided between three potential candidates: Ken Childress, John King and Josh Thurston. After each candidate was provided five minutes to make his case, delegates cast their vote and Thurston was the clear winner.

After some controversy over the rules, a nominating convention will be held tonight by Democratic precinct members in Iowa House District 33 to elect a candidate for the special election set for Nov. 24.

An employee in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa received a national award from the U.S. Department of Justice in recognition of her continued service to the office and exceptional accomplishments in the wake of the June 2008 floods.

A Cedar Rapids chiropractor will be spending the next seven years behind bars for using the stolen identities of minors in a scheme to bilk Medicaid.
Douglas P. Dvorak, 46, received the prison term Thursday after an April jury verdict found him guilty of 22 counts of mail fraud, 11 counts of aggravated identity theft and [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — Craig Fugate, who was confirmed as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in May, received his first in-person look at the remaining damage in a Cedar Rapids flood zone Tuesday when he toured sections of Time Check Neighborhood with local officials.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Roughly 100 flood-impacted residents and business gathered at the Marriott here Wednesday night to hear from officials from several agencies involved in the city’s flood recovery efforts.
The event, which was billed as a forum, was set up a bit like a job fair. Presenters provided remarks in a large crowd setting and [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — Greeted by a chorus of cheers as well as a few jeers at a community clinic re-opening here this morning, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin told audience members that “the status quo is unacceptable,” and “delay and postponement is not an option” on health care reform.

The first $45.5 million in grants associated with Gov. Chet Culver’s I-JOBS infrastructure plan were handed out Monday morning by the program’s governing board.
The money, part of the $830 million program designed to help the state rebuild after last year’s tornado and flooding disaster, includes $20 million for projects in Cedar Rapids, one of the [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — There was very little pomp and circumstance surrounding First Lady Mari Culver’s volunteer work Wednesday on one of 20 homes under construction by Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity. The legions of twenty-something volunteers maneuvered amid the the houses on Cedar Rapids’ far west side, measuring vinyl siding, hauling bundles of shingles to bare rooftops while barking occasional orders to one other.