The following is from Deb Engmark of Brucemore, the Indian Creek Nature Center and Linn County Master Gardeners: For many Midwest gardeners, January is a time to dream about the beautiful gardens to be sown while poring over the daily arrivals of seed catalogs. The month is filled with visions of beautiful flowers and fantasies [...]
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IOWA CITY – Jarrett Mitchell wants Iowa City residents to be able to raise chickens in their backyards, and he’s running for City Council to try to make that a reality. The 33-year-old coffee shop owner has filed papers to run as an at-large candidate in the November election. He said his main campaign issue [...]
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UPDATE: President Obama offered an upbeat view Wednesday that the economy is slowly recovering but tough choices lay ahead that will be further complicated if the “Bush tax cuts” for the wealthy don’t end – a point that drew pushback from a small businessman who attended the presidential backyard talk. Speaking at a non-campaign event, [...]
continue »Agriculture and culture, rolled into one Cedar Rapids City Council meeting. Served with gravy and a biscuit. Chickens – The council waded once again into the seemingly endless backyard chicken saga. No need to ponder the question of which came first, the chicken, the egg or the backyard chicken ordinance. It’s no contest. The council [...]
continue »It appears that bringing chickens to city backyards requires two different modifications to the Municipal Code, one in the code’s chapter on zoning and one in the chapter on cats, dogs and other animals. On Tuesday evening, the City Council is poised to make the changes. A month ago, the council voted 6-2 to change the [...]
continue »Palo’s passage of an ordinance allowing backyard chickens brought out the calls, including one from Sharon and Vernon Eden of rural Iowa City. Vernon, 78, has raised chickens for years, but his health is failing and he needs to sell them. They have about 25 Araucana chickens, 10 guineas and 2 Pekin ducks. The ducks [...]
continue »Yellow T-shirted advocates for backyard chickens have been pecking away at the City Council for six months, asking for a chance at a trial to raise chickens in 50 backyards in the city. Tuesday night, Cedar Rapids Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chickens – CR-CLUC – asked again, and this time the organization hit [...]
continue »Spring may still seem maddeningly far away, but gardeners are already gearing up for the season. Following are gardening and environmental events in Eastern Iowa during March 2010: Tues., March 2, 6-7:30 p.m., New Pioneer Food Co-op, Coralville. “Raising Urban Chickens,” with Misha Goodman of Iowa City Animal Services will outline what is needed for [...]
continue »Enjoy these eco-activities this month – January 2010 – in Eastern Iowa: NOTE: This event (bird banding) has been postponed due to the extreme cold. Check back here for the rescheduled date. Sat., Jan. 2, 9 a.m. to noon – The Linn County Conservation Department will host a Bird Banding program at Wickiup Hill Outdoor [...]
continue »Cedar Rapids Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chickens — CLUC — last night asked the City Council to allow up to six hens in the backyards of single-family homes. A similar move is afoot in Iowa City, and representatives of the group note that a growing list of cities now allow urban chickens in [...]
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