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Two young, first-time candidates given less than a month to campaign are seeking the Iowa House District 33 seat in Tuesday’s special election. Dick Taylor’s recent resignation opened the seat that represents southwest and southeast Cedar Rapids. Our interviews with Kirsten Running-Marquardt, 32, the Democratic Party’s nominee, and Josh Thurston, 28, the Republicans’ choice, found similarities among their priorities: flood rebuilding, economic development and creating jobs. When it came to proposing specific solutions or ideas, we heard little from either. Running-Marquardt holds the ...

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Johnson County residents will be voting after all to fill deceased County Supervisor Larry Meyers’ vacant seat. Petitioners gathered 7,810 valid signatures requesting the special election, which will be Jan. 19. The winner will serve through the end of 2010. Too bad officials didn’t call for the election in the first place. Instead, County Auditor Tom Slockett, Recorder Kim Painter and Treasurer Tom Kriz decided to appoint a supervisor, they said, because of how much a special election would cost taxpayers: ...

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First, some good consumer news about food as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday week: The cost of a typical turkey dinner with trimmings is virtually unchanged from two years ago. And in Eastern Iowa, it’ll cost you about $7 less to feed a gathering of 10, compared to the national average grocery bill. The bad news is that more Americans and Iowans are struggling to put enough food on the table, much less able to afford the luxury of a big ...

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The 2009 election season isn’t over yet in Cedar Rapids. Two important events just around the corner deserve your attention and presence in the voting booth or completion of an absentee ballot. On Tuesday, voters in precincts 1 through 11 — southeast and southwest Cedar Rapids — will decide who serves the remaining year representing Iowa House District 33, a seat left vacant by state Rep. Dick Taylor’s resignation just a month ago. The race provides an interesting contrast between two young ...

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Kudos to area fire departments that are reaching out to teach juvenile firebugs that starting fires is no game. We applaud their efforts, which officials say appear to be curbing the number of repeat offenders among children setting fires. Of course, parents should be talking to their children, too. Preventing kids from fire play is more than a matter of protecting property. It also can save lives. As state Department of Public Safety Spokeswoman Jessica Lown told us this week, children need to ...

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NO ONE HURT: Thankfully, no one was injured Wednesday when a 550-ton crane tipped over and fell at the site of the new federal courthouse in southeast Cedar Rapids. lll BBB IS BACK: Better Business Bureau is back in Cedar Rapids after a 17-year absence. This office will give consumers someone closer to home to help resolve complaints about unfair business practices, as well help businesses improve customer service. lll ENCOURAGING VOTE: Leigh Rekow’s election as mayor should be a plus for the troubled ...

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HARASSMENT TOLL: An Iowa Pride Network survey of 203 students, 88 of whom identified themselves as gay, suggests that bullying and harassment of gay, bisexual and transgender students is common in Iowa despite the 2007 law requiring schools to have policies that protect all students. The survey sample is small but if it’s close to accurate, it affirms that no law will curb bullying and harassment if local schools don’t or can’t enforce the policies. lll COURT CUTS: All state judges, magistrates ...

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Our state government is increasingly addicted to using one-time money pots to pay for ongoing and increasing expenditures, state Auditor David Vaudt warned last week. The practice, he says, is one reason Iowa has such a severe budget crunch. It’s hard to argue with Vaudt’s reasoning and numbers. He is widely respected for his objective focus on financial reality, and our state policy makers should pay attention. Vaudt outlined a sobering scenario. The Legislature approved a budget for fiscal 2007 that was funded ...

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The Linn County Board of Supervisors is preparing to approve a measure that would set aside up to 1 percent of the cost of capital construction projects for public works of art. If the money is spent thoughtfully and prudently, it could benefit the community for decades. We live in a community that already boasts a strong tradition of supporting public art. The region’s most famous artist, Grant Wood, was the recipient of numerous public art commissions. A treasured stained glass ...

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The Marion City Council appears close to deciding whether to launch a major redevelopment project in the city’s central corridor. The plan has drawn both intense support and opposition. Opponents are on board with much of the proposal. The biggest objection: Most oppose the proposed roundabout intersection at 15th Street, saying one of its purposes, to divert through traffic to a revamped, extended Sixth Avenue, would hurt some existing businesses along Seventh Avenue. Supporters, including city planners, say the roundabout is a ...

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We’re perplexed by some recent state government and University of Iowa hiring and spending decisions. We thought state public institutions were supposed to be in belt-tightening mode after the governor ordered a hiring freeze 11 months ago, budget reductions last spring and a sharp across-the-board cut in September. So why are public institutions still planning out-of-state training and hiring big-salary, executive staff? These things make us wonder if state officials have enough will to hold the line and make do during the ...

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About 75 World War II veterans from Eastern Iowa flew Tuesday to Washington D.C. to visit the memorial built in their honor and dedicated in May 2004. Most of them never would have made the trip if not for the Honor Flight Network. This organization of veterans, volunteers and businesses has been a dream come true for more than 40,000 WWII veterans so far. Today, Veterans Day 2009, we salute all veterans. It’s also appropriate to recognize Honor Flight for its mission ...

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Good for those Iowa City bar owners who have ponied up to help pay for more police patrols on the city’s busy Pedestrian Mall on weekend nights. But not quite good enough. Because while those extra officers will help keep the peace in the busy downtown area, they alone can’t get at the root of the problem there. Too many people are drinking far too much alcohol downtown, causing fights, sexual assaults, accidents, injuries, vandalism and other nuisance crimes. And while police and bar ...

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WHY WALL STREET?: Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, was right to question federal health officials on why H1N1 vaccine was shipped to big Wall Street companies while public clinics for children and other high-risk people in Iowa and elsewhere don’t have enough to meet demand. The allocation process for some states also seems out of whack. l l l TOO SOON: State government agencies, many businesses and most governments are using employee furloughs, pay freezes or cuts and even layoffs to deal with ...

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WORTHY IDEA: Michael Richards, Cedar Rapids entrepreneur, has a proposal we think deserves serious consideration. Instead of demolishing the old Freeway Express Lounge that is one of Linn County’s flooded properties, Richards proposes that the county give him the building and help pay for moving it to New Bohemia, where it could be renovated into a storefront and upstairs living space. That could be a trade-off for county demolition costs and also keep a property on the tax rolls. l l ...

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Transforming the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City corridor into a united regional economic force is not a new idea. It’s been batted around for 25 years or more. David Swenson has identified our corridor as Iowa’s one true regional economy. Yet we still haven’t capitalized on our potential. Individual development, business, government and education entities too often still focus on their own turf and don’t realize the benefits of a targeted, united voice. It’s high time to make this happen. As Dee Baird, vice president of ...

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More than 230,000 Iowa kids ride a school bus every day. And it’s not only school bus drivers who are responsible for their safety. Everyone who drives bears a responsibility to look out for buses and their young passengers. When the amber lights flash and the stop arm extends, slow down and stop. It’s the law. That seems simple enough, but according to a recent Gazette report published in The Gazette, the message often is not getting through. Cedar Rapids bus drivers have ...

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Chet Culver may not agree, but we think it’s OK that his isn’t the state’s highest paying job. After all, there are a lot of other perks that come along with being governor. Besides that, public service — not salary — should be the big appeal for applicants. And certainly some of those state employees who earn more than the governor are being paid what they’re worth. The state undoubtedly needs many of those employees’ expertise and specialized skills. Even so, after looking ...

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Once again, voter turnout in Tuesday’s municipal elections in the Corridor’s two largest cities was less than disappointing. In Cedar Rapids, two well-qualified mayoral candidates conducted a lively campaign and provided distinctive choices. Four other city council seats were well contested. The council’s performance on flood-recovery matters was on the line. Yet just 27 percent of registered voters — fewer than 3 of every 10 — bothered to cast a ballot. In Iowa City, where three council seats were up for grabs, the ...

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Cedar Rapids voters spoke clearly in Tuesday’s election for mayor. More than 60 percent of them affirmed that they want someone who will bring a new style of leadership to city government. Ron Corbett’s victory over Brian Fagan, mayor pro tem and at-large council member, signaled that residents want the next mayor to step up the council’s power and pace in our 4-year-old form of council/manager government. Corbett, the former Iowa speaker of the House and local Chamber of Commerce president who now ...

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If leaders at the state’s public universities think their current budgets look ugly, just wait until next year. Decisions for the 2010-11 fiscal year are going to be especially painful on top of consecutive years of state funding cuts and federal stimulus money running dry. No question, it’s going to hurt. But a proposed 6 percent tuition increase is not the answer. The Board of Regents must not pass the buck to students and their families, many of whom already are pinched by ...

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FINALLY, A FIRE STATION: After a decade of debate, construction on Iowa City’s badly needed northeast side fire station is under way. lll WELCOME HOME: About 300 Iowa National Guard soldiers from the 3368th and 1168th Transportation Companies who served in Iraq for nearly a year came home Wednesday. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. lll PERSISTENCE: Back in 2005, Cedar Rapids attorney Bud Kudart submitted a proposal to the new Iowa Great Places program. He wanted to create an “Iowa Writers, Artists ...

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DRY UP: October in Iowa. Crisp, dry days showcasing fall color. Farmers wrapping up another abundant harvest. Not this October. Record rainfall, mostly cloudy days and below-average temperatures spoiled outdoor activities and put Iowa’s farmers at least three weeks behind the average date for completing their harvest. The foul weather also is raising drying costs so grain can be stored safely. lll LOOPHOLE EXPLOITED: Political campaign reform in 2007 was supposed to ban members of Congress from accepting gifts from lobbyists, with ...

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We’ve heard some folks argue that Tuesday’s city election in Cedar Rapids is a referendum on the new form of government in Cedar Rapids — the part-time council/full-time professional manager system launched in 2005. We disagree. The form of government is OK. This election is about the kind of leaders voters chose. Power lies with the council and how well its members use that power. This election is clearly a watershed moment in Cedar Rapids history. Seventeen months after Iowa’s worst-ever natural ...

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The University of Iowa is a public institution, but it doesn’t seem to value the public’s right to know. The UI recently decided to appeal a judge’s order that it release more than 1,000 pages of documents related to a reported sexual assault on campus in October 2007. Two former Hawkeye football players have been charged in the case and are awaiting trial. The Iowa City Press-Citizen filed a lawsuit in January 2008, hoping to persuade the university to release stacks of ...

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