CEDAR FALLS — Pastors typically use sermons and Bible verses to spread messages of faith, but now many churches are hopping onto the social media bandwagon. Heartland Vineyard Church in Cedar Falls has two services on Sundays. The messages, however, don’t stop flowing when those services are over. From Twitter to Facebook and YouTube, they’re [...]

With just two weeks until Johnson County voters head back to the polls, the county’s justice center debate is heating up. Johnson County residents will vote May 7 on a $43.5 million bond issue to pay for the building . Plans for the justice center include a new 195-bed jail and courtrooms. The facility would be located [...]

State lawmakers haven’t come up with new guidelines regarding traffic cameras along interstates and state highways , so the Iowa Department of Transportation is taking up the issue. The changes could impact cities with cameras and those planning to install them. Iowa City leaders, who were planning to install red-light cameras, are playing the waiting game for [...]

Ice chunks big enough to cover park benches along the banks of the Cedar River still sit as a reminder that it’s just the beginning of the spring flooding season. It’s been a week since ice chunks started clogging the Cedar River. City leaders started noticing the jam on the city’s northwest side Monday night. [...]

City officials announced Monday that more than $30 million worth of construction is coming to the Iowa River Landing in Coralville. Crews already are moving dirt for the retail and residential units. A collection of two-story retail buildings, called Main Street at the Iowa River Landing, will consist of retail on the ground floor and [...]

New traffic lights are flashing at drivers in certain areas around town. Cedar Rapids is installing signals to reduce car versus pedestrian crashes. They’re called HAWK signals. Right now, there are just two — one on C Avenue NE near Rockwell Collins and one near Metro High School on 12th Avenue SE. The two intersections [...]

Firefighters battled flames for hours in the second fire in the Cedar Rapids flood zone this week. The vacant, two-story building at 131 14th Ave. SE caught fire at around 1:30 a.m. Friday. Crews arrived to find a massive scene of smoke and fire in the NewBo area of Cedar Rapids. “The first unit was arriving on [...]

  UPDATED at 1:35 p.m. – Smoke could be seen for blocks after a fire sparked in the heart of downtown Monticello. Dozens of firefighters battled flames early Wednesday morning, including some from Monticello, Manchester, Cascade, Hopkinton and Anamosa. The emergency call came in at 3:40 a.m. Crews focused their effort on the building that housed Monticello [...]

SUMNER – With every breath, Sumner Police Chief Dennis Cain can feel the bullet fragments left in his chest. Nearly a month has passed since Cain was shot twice during a police chase following a bank robbery in northeast Iowa. Authorities said Cain and Iowa State Patrol Trooper Mark Domino were injured while they were chasing [...]

Witnesses to an overnight shooting outside of a Cedar Rapids bar disarmed the shooter and held him down until police arrived. James A. Breen, 27, of 125 21st St. NE, has been charged with attempted murder and going armed with intent after the shooting outside of Rumors Bar and Grill, 400 F Ave. NW. He is [...]

Firefighters are finding hope in an investigation that has dragged on for more than four years. About three dozen vacant homes, sheds and businesses near the Cedar River have gone up in flames since the flood of 2008. Two people have been arrested in connection with two of the fires, but over the past few years, [...]

Cedar Rapids firefighters are firing up new technology in their trucks. Technicians are installing 18 new Mobile Data Computers. So far, seven have gone in and the rest will be in by the end of October. They work using 4G LTE technology, like what many smart phones have. Some computers are already in use as [...]

There’s something flashy and new to grab the attention of drivers in Springville. The Iowa Department of Transportation has installed a pair of traffic signals called an Intersection Conflict Warning System at a deadly intersection in the name of increasing safety. Crews activated them this week. The DOT has had its eye on an intersection at the [...]

Thursday marks a literal and a symbolic step forward in the construction of the new federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids. Court employees organized a “flag walk” to celebrate a long-awaited moment. The ceremony will help mark the beginning of the move into the new federal courthouse in downtown Cedar Rapids. “This is something we came up with [...]

Two of the largest remaining flood-damaged buildings in Cedar Rapids will start coming down this week. Starting today (Monday), crews will begin tearing down the former Swiss Valley Farms building at 133 F Ave NW and the former Norwood Souvenir building at 202 F Ave NW. A demolition contract for both projects was awarded to D.W. [...]

Feelings of sadness will mix with a scene of celebration as community members gather to honor the birthday of one of the missing Black Hawk County girls. Today is Lyric Cook’s 11th birthday. Family and friends have organized a party at Countryside Vineyard Church from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  tonight. “I know there’s going to be a [...]

Two tours are criss-crossing Iowa trying to reach voters before the November election. The tours are spreading messages about the retention of an Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins who was part of the 2009 decision on same sex marriage. Both will roll into Cedar Rapids and Greene Square Park to convince people to vote for or against [...]

Organizations, pharmacies, and hospitals across Eastern Iowa are ready for this year’s influenza season, and have already started to offer this year’s flu shot. Dr. Clete Younger, a physician at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, said the season typically begins in October, but Iowans have seen outbreaks as early as September. That’s why doctors [...]

Residents of the North Liberty Living Center will raise a flag to commemorate the 11th anniversary of September 11. The building opened one year ago and until now, the facility has never had a flag. Seniors living at the Living Center were quick to change that. “I think that’s one of the first things I [...]

MOUNT VERNON – Lightning struck an old Cornell College building early Friday morning, igniting a fire that destroyed the bell tower atop the building and melted the one-ton bell inside. “I was awake because I knew there was a storm and there was a tremendous boom,” said Denver Dillard, who lives just across the street from [...]