Horticulturists Richard Jauron and Willy Klein of Iowa State University Extension provided the following timely tips on preparing perennials for the winter: Many perennials make it through winter just fine with no special attention. But in Iowa gardens, some perennials require a little attention just before the ground freezes. How should I prepare mums for [...]

Linn County Master Gardener Becki Lynch, passed along this advice about winter preparations:  I know that each year I forget about protecting a shrub or tree, and so end up with a tree or two that has either suffered foliage damage or been chewed on by deer or rabbits. So this year I’m getting ahead [...]

City crews in Iowa City spend a good portion of Wednesday testing soil far beneath the surface of Dubuque Street.  The work was done in preparation for a massive project to raise the street over a quarter mile stretch prone to flooding. “It’s very exciting, the city has been working on this project for a [...]

Rejection of extending a local option sales tax to pay for flood mitigation doesn’t mean Cedar Rapids voters are against flood protection, Linn County legislators said today. Linn County legislators Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, and Rep. Nick Wagner, R-Marion, said that despite the defeat of the 1-cent sales tax to pay for flood walls [...]

By Rick Smith and Rod Boshart   A unanimous Iowa Senate approved a plan Tuesday to provide state funds to help cities that contribute local funds to build flood protection, Tuesday’s vote comes just a week before a crucial election in Cedar Rapids in which voters will be asked to extend a 1 percent local-option [...]

It’s a new year and a new ballot, but the arguments for and against a one-cent local option sales tax extension remain the same. Supporters say it’s the only path to flood protection.  Opponents argue there are too many questions to confidently cast a ballot. Last year, the measure asked for a 20-year extension of [...]

  For many Iowans, gardening and bird-watching go hand-in-hand. During the growing season, providing certain varieties of flowers will attract different types of birds. Linn County Master Gardener, Lisa Slattery, notes that similar guidelines apply in the winter. Here is more from Lisa on this time-honored hobby: For me, attracting birds is an important part [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS — All is quiet one month before a local vote to extend the city’s 1 percent local-option sales tax to help pay for a flood-protection system on both sides of the Cedar River. The March 6 referendum is something of a do-over. In May, the tax extension in a different form was [...]

DES MOINES — Attorney General Tom Miller has joined nine other attorneys general in signing a legal brief in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The brief, which was expected to be filed by the end of business on Friday, specifically supports the authority of the U.S. Congress to require people to [...]

No schedule changes have been announced by American Eagle Airlines for The Eastern Iowa Airport in the wake of Tuesday’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the commuter airline and its corporate parent, AMR Corp. AMR, also the corporate parent of American Airlines, filed for reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [...]