Stories

As the Des Moines Register reported yesterday, anti-war activists in Iowa City were spied on by at least two law enforcement sources in the lead-up to the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.: a female undercover officer from the Ramsey County (Minn.) Sheriff’s Department, and a confidential FBI informant.
The Register could not confirm [...]

The Iowa City Press-Citizen endorsed Barack Obama for president Wednesday, giving Democrats a near-sweep in its endorsements.

In Iowa City, Democratic party activists have a traditional, friendly competition for the honor of “first voter.” On Thursday, the first day of in-person early voting, three dozen people lined up at the county auditor’s office before the window opened. The first-in-line winner was Sue Dvorsky of Coralville, an early Obama backer and one of [...]

Several of Iowa City’s larger employers — the county, the city, the state, ACT, and HyVee — pay their employees every two weeks on a Friday. The biggest by far employer, the University, pays its employees on the first of the month. About every 14 months or so, those paydays align, and everybody gets paid. And that’s today. Let us celebrate with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Complicated legal arrangements have left residents of Iowa City’s Idyllwild neighborhood with plenty of flood buyout questions. Residents are also questioning flood management, in particular a temporary coffer dam on the University of Iowa campus that raised flood waters above 1993 levels.

One of the most popular tailgating sites for Iowa Hawkeye Fans is no more. Olive Court has been sold.

The loss of a century old bridge, paved with wooden planks, isn’t a blow to Johnson County’s infrastructure. Traffic is flowing unimpeded at the new Sutliff bridge, built 25 years ago a quarter mile north of the unincorporated village.

But the old Sutliff Bridge was — past tense, as the damage is probably beyond repair — [...]

A meeting between federal and city officials and residents of the flooded out Normandy Drive area of Iowa City started out folksy Saturday, but grew more tense as answers grew less specific.

The more than 250 residents were more than happy with Dave Loebsack (pictured above with neighborhood resident Steve McGuire), offering applause for the congressman’s [...]

Marine One over the Coralville Strip.

George Bush said last week he’s seen a lot of disasters as President, and Thursday he checked out one more: our very own floods right here in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

With Iowa City flood waters slowly receding, relief efforts are turning to fundraising and planning.