Community Information
About Cedar Rapids Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River just north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state’s capital and largest city. The City Hall and County Courthouse are located on Mays Island, an island on the river. Cedar Rapids is one of only a few cities in the world to have governmental offices on a municipal island.
A flourishing center for arts and theatre in Eastern Iowa, the city is home to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Paramount Theatre, and the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance. The city is also an economic hub of the state and is at the core of the Interstate 380 Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor of Linn, Benton, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties. The estimated population of the three-county Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes nearby cities of Marion and Hiawatha, was 252,784 in 2007. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city’s population at 126,396 in 2007. The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City corridor has an estimated population of 423,353 as of 2006.
Cedar Rapids has been residence to famous figures for the United States, including American Gothic painter Grant Wood, journalist and historian William L. Shirer, writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten, and aerodynamics pioneer Dr. Alexander Lippisch. In the 1990s and 2000s, Hollywood would feature several Cedar Rapidians including actors Ashton Kutcher, Elijah Wood and Ron Livingston. The city is also the setting for a musical, “The Pajama Game”.
The name Cedar Rapids is named for the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids is nicknamed the City of Five Seasons for the traditional four seasons and a “fifth season” which is a time to enjoy the other four. The symbol of the five seasons is the Tree of Five Seasons sculpture in downtown Cedar Rapids along the north river bank. The name “Five Seasons” and representations of the sculpture appear throughout the city in many forms.
Economy
The 12-story Roosevelt Hotel was built in 1927 and is on the National Historic Register. It is one of several prospects attracting outside investors to the city. Cedar Rapids is home to several large businesses and industries, including General Mills, Cargill, Alliant Energy, GE Commercial Finance, Rockwell Collins, Quaker Oats, AEGON, United Fire and Casuality, Toyota Financial Services, PAETEC, Archer Daniels Midland, Qwest, GreatAmerica Leasing, RuffaloCODY, Nordstrom, PMX, Square D and CRST International. Although many of these companies have been located in Cedar Rapids for quite some time, a larger number of high-tech industries are locating in or around Cedar Rapids because it is part of the Technology Corridor, a region of the state that also includes the Iowa City metro area to the south. Much of Iowa’s technological businesses and industries operate from this corridor. Since a diversification of the local economy, the unemployment rate has held at a reasonable rate and wages are consistently among the highest in the state.
Arts
The Tree of Five Seasons sculpture is the city’s centerpiece, located where 1st Avenue crosses the Cedar River on the north bank. It was constructed in the mid-1990s by a local businessman to promote the area.Cedar Rapids is home to The Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, The Paramount Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, and Brucemore-A National Trust Historic Site, among others.
Cedar Rapids is also home to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Legion Art’s CSPS Museum, the National Czech & Slovak Museum, the African American Historical Museum, Kirkwood Community College’s Iowa Hall Gallery, and the legendary Grant Wood Studio at 5 Turner Alley. These Cedar Rapids venues have recently hosted world class and award nominated exhibitions, including the works of Andy Warhol, Grant Wood, and the Iowa Biennial, among others.
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art houses the largest collection of Grant Wood paintings in the world. The 1920s Paramount Theatre is home to the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra and the Cedar Rapids Area Theatre Organ Society. Concerts and events such as high school graduations, sporting events, exhibitions, and political rallies are held in the U.S. Cellular Center, formerly known as The Five Seasons Center.
Education
Cedar Rapids is home to two four-year colleges: Coe College and Mount Mercy College. The University of Iowa also has an evening MBA facility there. Kirkwood Community College is the area’s only two-year college, while Kaplan University (formerly Hamilton College) and Upper Iowa University also have campuses there. Cornell College in Mount Vernon and the University of Iowa’s main campus in Iowa City are both within 30 miles (48 km) of Cedar Rapids.
The Cedar Rapids Community School District is the largest school district in the metropolitan area with an enrollment of 17,263 in the 2006-2007 school year. The district contains 24 elementary schools, six middle schools, and four high schools: Jefferson, Washington, Kennedy, and Metro (an alternative high school). Two neighboring school districts draw students from within the Cedar Rapids city limits. The Linn-Mar Community School District serves part of the northeast quadrant of the city and has seven elementary schools inside the city limits. The College Community School District serves part of the southwest quadrant of Cedar Rapids as well as neighboring rural portions of Linn, Benton and Johnson counties. College Community’s four elementary schools, Prairie Middle School, and Prairie High School are all located in a central campus off Interstate 380.
The Cedar Rapids Metro Catholic Education System, which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school (Xavier). The Cedar Rapids Catholic Eduation System and Cedar Rapids Community School District are synonymous with each other in the Cedar Rapids Public and Parochial School System.
Important Phone Numbers
Emergency
9-1-1
Cedar Rapids Police
319-286-5491
Cedar Rapids Fire
319-286-5200
Linn County Sheriff’s Dept.
319-892-6100
Marion Police
319-377-1511
Marion Fire
319-377-8237
Medical Assistance
Mercy Medical Center
319-398-6011
St. Luke’s Hospital
319-369-7211
Area Information Services
Chamber of Commerce
319-398-5317
www.cedarrapids.org
Airport Information Center
319-362-8336
CITYLINE Information
319-363-7000 Category 9000
Hiawatha Chamber of Commerce
319-398-5317
Marion Chamber of Commerce
319-377-6316
www.marioncc.org
