As a truck driver (14-foot straight bed), I drive Interstate 380 north out Cedar Rapids every morning. I feel a lot safer with traffic going 55-60 through town. Before cameras, you could get run over by people driving 70-80 mph (or more), including semis. If you follow the laws, then these cameras should not [...]

Truancy is an issue throughout the United States because it has been found to be directly connected to academic achievement, lower levels of self-esteem, career ambitions and behavior, as well as a significant link between truancy and crime. Education is both a right and a responsibility. As a community, it is important that we address [...]

Whatever views you may about immigration legislation, you probably agree with most Americans that something should be done. You probably also agree with an overwhelming majority who share a disapproving view of Congress. Consider then, that of the 300 amendments tacked on to an immigration bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley of [...]

According to a story on www.usatoday.com/, our country is looking at losing countless jobs and businesses. This year J.C. Penney is looking at closing more than 300 stores, Game Stop will close more than 500 stores and Best Buy is closing more than 200 stores and they are just three of nine stores listed on [...]

Changing gun laws will not do anything to improve our country. What is needed is change of heart. In the not too distant past the thought of murdering children would not even come to mind. “You reap what you sow!” What we have sown since the end of World War II is a shift away [...]

  May is upon us, the grass is green and the trees are budding. Everyone is awaiting the Memorial Day weekend; some for a day off work, others to visit their deceased family members at a cemetery. Whether they are a loved one that recently passed or an ancestor you have never met, remember to [...]

The elimination of services for 108 people with disabilities is going to have profound consequences. Linn County employees pride themselves in the continuity of high-level care they provide to the clients. These clients are extremely vulnerable in their environment and respond to change with difficulty. It is a shame to see Linn County supervisors close [...]

  Regarding statements made in Dave Ameling’s vitriolic letter of April 29, which pilloried Sen. Chuck Grassley: Ameling said, “There is no difference between getting a background check to get a commercial driver’s license and to purchase a gun.” Yes, there is. Driving is a privilege granted by the states. Gun ownership is a right [...]

  Baseball and softball season is well underway, and parents and grandparents are busy trekking kids to games at tournaments — a large majority of them outside Cedar Rapids/Marion/Linn County. Prospect Meadows Ball Fields can change so much of that. Not only would the proposed new complex allow kids to stay here, but families from [...]

  Congratulations to the students and faculty at Regina Elementary School in Iowa City for being involved in using our resources in order to keep from supplying our misused landfills. (Multiply these young people by the millions and know it’s a fantastically big deal!) A great story in how it used to be in great [...]