Progress 2012

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ProgressProgressour 2012our 2012A product of the Marion Times v Marion, Iowa v Thursday, February 2, 2012

— Times photo by Corey MunsonChildren play on the newly unveiled ‘Rainbow Playground’ at Indian Creek Elementary in Marion. The playground was dedicated at an event Monday, Aug. 15. See page C5 for more on the project.

— Times photo by Corey MunsonThe first portion of a civic art installation on 35th St. in Marion was set in place Tuesday, Nov. 15. The creator of the art, Dale Merriel, of Liberty Metal Works in Mount Vernon supervised the placement (pictured at center, without a hard hat on). The art is meant to represent corn, and stands on the north end of the city. Merriel said the project would likely take about a week to complete.

— Times photo submittedDescendants of the Granger family visited Marion’s Granger House Museum, Saturday, June 25th. (L to R) David Granger, 11 year old Jeff Marks, Museum Director Barbara Feller, and Pam Granger Marks. They toured the home, as David and Pam shared stories of visiting relatives and the family farm when they were children. They also presented a generous donation to the home’s preservation fund. See page C5 for more on this story.

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P r o g r e s s Thursday, February 2, 2012C2 Marion TiMes

Building Up the Community

— Times photos by Corey Munson

The City of Marion celebrated the opening of its Parks De-partment Maintenance Facil-ity at Thomas Park Thursday, Dec. 22. The facility provides storage and work space for the Park staff. (Lower photo) Marion Paul Rehn - holding the scissors - moments after cut-ting the ribbon at the new facil-ity as the group reacts. In ad-dition to being a maintenance shop, the building also hous-es public rental space and a storm shelter for park visitors. Many local businesses worked on the facility, including all four of the advertisers on this page.

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P r o g r e s sThursday, February 2, 2012 Marion TiMes C3

New Mayor and new ideas on display at 2012 ‘state of the City’ address Snooks Bouska returned to many of the themes discussed during his campaign for Mayor

By Corey MunsonTimes Editor

Marion Mayor Snooks Bouska got a few laughs and likely a few

sideways glances during his first, and the city’s 18th, State of the City address Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Bouska used the platform to tout Marion’s economic and residential growth and also reiterated some of his campaign themes, including questioning the Central Corridor plan as it now stands.

He opened the speech with a little levity before a packed house of al-most 300 onlookers at Longbranch.

“You always have to have props when you do something like this,” Bouska said, donning what he called a ‘crash helmet’ made of newspaper. “As a crop duster pilot I always had a crash helmet... I’ll need this because I’m sure you’re going to start throwing vegetables when my remarks resume. This is my crazy Czech crash helmet I’ll use today to reflect all negative re-marks.”

He was quick to take on the Seventh Avenue plan, repeating his claim that under the plan as it stands now, traffic would be re-duced on Seventh Avenue by 75 percent through uptown.

“This will severely impact the economic profitability of these businesses located here to the point where they will fail,” Bouska said. “I propose that an economic re-port be done to establish what the impact of [this plan] will have on these businesses.”

He would also like to see council and the community reconsider the plans offered and try to settle on a plan which would have less im-pact on traffic on Seventh Avenue

through uptown.“This corridor plan is only a con-

cept and implementation is several years away,” Bouska said. “There is plenty of time for all sides to come to a common agreement, and I am sure that common ground can be found and I would be proud to be part of that solution.”

At the same time he asked for improvements to sidewalks in up-town to go beyond Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, in a bid to make the park and businesses more accessible.

He also called for further devel-opment of park facilities to include additional splash pads, skate parks tennis courts and soccer fields.

“A privately developed water park would be welcome,” he said.

Bouska reiterated his concern about recent bond issues approved by council. He pointed out that in years past Marion has bonded about $5 million every other year. Bouska said tradition was broken this year when the new council approved a larger issuance of bonds at its first meeting.

“I feel we should have had pub-lic referendums on the Seventh Avenue Corridor Project, the $12 million police station, and this $20 million bond issue,” Bouska said. “The city missed a golden opportu-nity when it failed to include the af-fected businesses along the Seventh Avenue corridor in its preliminary plan for realignment.

“We need to have a closer rela-tionship with citizens than we have had in the past,” Bouska said. “Any time we can have public input, the better we can address problems and concerns that may arise with any future project.”

He called for revisions to the city code of ethics. Though he was not specific on what protocols he would like to change, simply stating that, “It means nothing if the legal stat-utes are met but the court of public opinion feels that someone has been wronged.

“I propose a new transparency

in city government,” Bouska said. “Talk is cheap until the city council does it.”

He also took time to point out his own business credentials, relating them back to the city budget.

“With a background in business, I like balanced budgets, so I say no new fees and minimal increase in property taxes,” Bouska said. “I support the Governor’s call for a residential property tax freeze and a roll back on commercial property taxes.”

Though he pointed out he feels he is “out of lead at high noon on these topics, out numbered and out gunned through all the uncontrolled variables such as school district levies, state mandated health care increases,” when trying to control costs and property taxes.

Finally, he threw out what he re-ferred to as a ‘zinger.’

“I propose that the downtown location of First United Methodist Church [which is slated to move to a new building in the next few years] be acquired and developed privately,” Bouska said. “This could be used as both a senior cen-ter and as a theater for performing arts featuring Marion’s own Red Cedar Chamber music. It would be a great enhancement for the uptown entertainment district. If I can get Craig Campbell (co-owner of Cam-bell-Steele Gallery) to support this idea, it will be a done deal.”

This was a new proposal to most of the crowd on hand.

Recapping the accomplishments of the previous year, he took time to review the Tower Terrace Road project.

“The Marion portion [of the Tower Terrace Road project] will likely be the longest and most ex-pensive portion, from Highway 13 to I-380, but when completed will give our residents a preferred direct route to the west,” Bouska said. “The portion from Alburnett Road to 10th Street will be completed this

System will improve coordination with Linn County, Cedar Rapids law enforcement

By Cary J. HahnTimes News

It’s a good day for the citizens of Linn County,” said Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner as he stood with Marion Police Chief Harry Daugherty

and Cedar Rapids police chief Greg Graham at a news conference Thursday, May 12, in the briefing room of the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Gardner was referring to the new county-wide radio system that will support police, fire and EMS and will allow “seamless” radio and computer communication on the same radio frequency for the first time between Marion, Cedar Rapids and all of Linn and Johnson counties.

“It’s a great moment,” Daugherty said. “This is something that’s been ongoing for 15 to 20 years. We’ve been working on this and now it is finally going to happen. For the City of Marion -- once we get this up and running, and that won’t be long on our side because we’re going to implement as soon as we can -- we’re going to get all entities involved. Along with police and fire, we’re also going to have public works, parks, the water department and others on the system too.”

Graham called the new system “the difference be-tween life and death that will save precious time when officers may need immediate back up.”

With the new system, messages will automatically be picked up by everybody in the system and not have to be relayed from a dispatcher.

“It will bring instant access to each other,” Daugh-erty said.

It was announced Linn County has selected the Har-ris Corporation to design and deploy a P251P radio system for “mission critical communications” on Linn County’s new 800 MHz radio system. The total system will cost $18.2 million dollars. Infrastructure for the joint radio system, including towers that will be built, has a price tag of $11 million. Cedar Rapids share will be $5.5 million and Marion’s cost will be $2.2 million. Some of the total cost also includes radio and computer units.

The new Linn County system will tie into Johnson County which is also putting a new system online. All will be connected with the Iowa State Patrol as well. All rural county fire departments and small-town police departments will be linked into the system. The county will also include the county jail, juvenile detention cen-ter and conservation department.

Marion, Linn County and Cedar Rapids will be com-ing online in 2012.

Sheriff Gardner said such a system would have re-ally been beneficial during the flood of 2008, when the Linn County sheriff’s office, Cedar Rapids police and fire department headquarters were inundated causing them to rig a makeshift system together and relocating offices in Marion.

“The Marion City Council approved this about a month ago and we’re going to pay for this through gen-eral obligation bonds,” said Daugherty.

Graham said, “This initiative is one of the most im-portant steps forward in interoperability for us and all of Linn County. We wouldn’t have done it without the cooperation of all the public safety leaders and respec-tive governmental bodies. It was really a team effort.”

Harris will provide Linn County with local support and services from Harris’s partner and dealer, RACOM Corporation, which specializes in advanced public safety network management. RACOM’s current state-wide network includes some 300 other agencies and 10,000 users on that network.

“The Harris/RACOM team provided us with over a quarter of a million dollars worth of radios, program-ming and support during the 2008 floods,” said Charlie McClintock, Communications Director for Cedar Rap-ids. “They were there when we needed them, no ques-tions asked.”

Daugherty, Gardner and Graham said they were “lock step” in agreement that they don’t subscribe to the idea of a joint communications center. All said, du-plication of dispatch centers during the flood “saved the day.”

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Chief Daugherty said.

Marion part of county-wide radio communication system

— Times photos by Corey MunsonMarion Mayor Snooks Bouska gestures during the annual ‘State of the City’ ad-dress Tuesday, Jan. 24. Bouska, at the time, was wearing a sash in honor of his Czech heritage and a crash helmet made of paper to “reflect all negative remarks.”

see speech on page c10

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LM and Marion welcome new school Board members

Principal Phil Cochran hails from Oelwein

By Tiffany QuassTimes News Intern

Along with a new building and many additions to the staff, Vernon Middle

School welcomed Principal Phil Cochran to the staff for the 2011-12 school year.

Cochran grew up in Oelwein, Iowa, and attended Ellsworth Com-munity College. After that he re-ceived his Bachelors of Science in business education and teaching. To top it off he then earned his Mas-ters Degree in Technology Based Learning at Upper Iowa University. Also on that resume is an adminis-trative certificate from Northwest Missouri State.

Not only does Cochran have the education but he also has the expe-rience. For five years he was a busi-ness teacher and spent two years as an administrative middle school principal. After his completion he became a principal at Comanche Middle School for seven years.

Now Cochran has made his way to the Marion community. He was interested in Vernon Middle School because he wanted to be at a place that was moving forward.

“Middle school is my favorite age. They are challenging but fun. It’s an age where you can make a significant impact in their lives,” said Cochran.

The construction on the new school began in May of 2010 and is still ongoing.

Phase’s one and two have been completed, which were to build the new school and also tear down the

old Vernon Middle School. Most of the new Vernon building will be completed for the upcoming school year all except for phase three. Phase three is building the connect-ing building between the Vernon gym and the new building that is being completed. This is planned to be finished by the beginning of the 2012 school year.

“I couldn’t be more impressed with the new school. I think the

community will be too. It is all a very positive thing,” said Cochran. “I would like to finish my career here and have my kids start and fin-ish their schooling here.”

This new school really does have it all. It is a three level building full of classrooms, bathrooms, and of-fices. The hallways are all very spa-cious, the lockers are full length, the classrooms are much bigger then before, brand new science labs

and a quiet geothermal system. The lunch room, media center,

chorus and music room, fitness cen-ter and gym will all be in the new building for the first year. Then all of these rooms will be moved to the building that will be done in 2012.

“This year will be tight but it will all be worth it in the end,” Cochran said. “My goal is to build on all the good things that are already hap-ping here.”

The school year will begin Tues-day, Aug. 23, and will include sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. Next school year when everything is finished, fifth graders will also be included to Vernon Middle School. There is going to be about 360

students and 60 staff for the new school year.

To celebrate the new Vernon Middle School there will be a Big Red Rally on Wednesday, Sept. 7, from 5-7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come to attend the open house.

New Vernon M.S. starts year with new Principal

— Times photo by Corey MunsonAn exterior view of Vernon Middle School while under construction early in 2011. (Right) New VMS Principal Phil Cochran looks over plans for the newly built school. He started his first year as principal at Vernon in August.

Each board reelected two and added two others


Linn-Mar and Marion school boards each wel-comed two new faces to

their ranks in 2011, and said good bye to others.

Tim Isenberg and Elizabeth Wil-son were elected to the Linn-Mar board with Barry Buchholz re-elected, in an uncontested race. At Marion Independent, David Law and Shelly Pearson join the board as new members along with return-ing members Dan Barkley and Den-nis Trout. William O’Brien also ran for a spot on the Marion board, but received the fewest votes out of the five way race for four seats.

The Linn-Mar voting was split almost even. Voters were ask to pick four candidates from a list of four. According to unofficial results from the Linn County Elections of-fice website, Buchholz and Wilson each received 331 votes, Isenberg collected 333, while current School board President Stark got 343.

Marion’s race was contested, of-fering voters five choices and only

four seats to fill. Law received the most votes with 189, which worked out to about 25 percent of votes cast. Barkley received 167, Trout collected 150 while Pearson had 140 votes cast for her. O’Brien was awarded 97 votes, or 13 percent.

Marion’s David Law is a retired teacher who worked in the district for 18 years. He also served as Web master for Vernon Middle School and an 8th grade football coach.

“I decided to run for the board as a way to ‘give back’ to the district,” Law said. “Our children received wonderful educations and experi-ences from a superb staff of teach-ers, custodians, bus drivers, secre-taries, cooks, coaches and support staff members.”

He currently works as a part time employee of West Music for instru-ment displays and testing. He is also a high school varsity basketball official, and chair of the Iowa Alli-ance for Arts Education.

Shelly Pearson brings a different view to the Marion School Board from Law, that of a mother with children still in the district.

Pearson has two children cur-rently enrolled in the district, ages 16 and 10, another recently gradu-ated from Marion High School.

“I feel it is my responsibility as a parent to ensure my children and

the children of this district receive the best education this district can provide,” Pearson said. “As it is the hope of every parent, I would like to see my children graduate from Marion, go to college and be suc-cessful in life.”

She works for Eagle Technology Management, a company that de-velops financial reporting and tax compliance software.

Linn-Mar’s Elizabeth Wilson is also a mother of two in the dis-trict, and has taken that responsibil-ity seriously through work with the Wilkins Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization as well as the Linn-Mar Foundation.

“I have a long-standing pas-sion for education and kids,” Wil-son said. “This has taken the form of lots of volunteer work over the years.”

She said her service to the school board is a natural extension of this passion.

“I think we [within the Linn-Mar school district] have a really strong sense of community, and that’s very exciting,” Wilson said.

She also owns and manages Wil-son Business Service.

Tim Isenberg was unavailable be-fore press time because of business travel, please see his comments in a future issue of the Marion Times.

Visit adds to history of the now-famous structure


It was something Granger House director Barb Feller had hoped for more than 20 years, a visit by Granger House descendants to visit Marion and

the home. Three of them did Saturday, June 25, David Granger of Colorado, Pam Granger Marks and her elev-en year old son, Jeff Marks, who live in Hawaii.

They had traveled to the east coast and included a stop in Iowa on their way back home, according to Feller.

"Kim Ketelsen recorded a two hour conversation with them. They looked at a lot of photos and identified some of the people in them. When they were children

David and Pam came to visit the family farm in Mari-on. They talked about their Uncle Arthur. They shared magnificent stories that we will add to the home's his-tory. They remember the smells of Iowa, like the county fair. Molly had a garden and they remembered the fresh melons."

Board members and Granger House staff members were invited to the event. Retired school teacher Mar-tha White, who lived with the Grangers during World War II, also attended.

Some back history: Earl and Dora Granger moved into the house in 1878, abut 30 years after it was built. After gold was discovered in California, Earl Granger, at age 19, came to Marion to sell horses to the pioneers. They would eventually have a 250 acre farm along Indian Creek where Linn Mar High School is now.

They had six children, two who survived into adult-hood.

Son Alfred turned it into a dairy farm. Arthur built a house on Central Avenue and married Katherine "Kit" Van Nuys. They had two children. Mary Ellen "Molly" Granger worked for the Marion School District into the 1980's. Her son was Tom Costello who lived around the corner in the Central Avenue house until 1985 before moving. Molly's brother was John Granger who had a PhD in physics from Harvard and eventually would move to England. He and his wife had three chil-dren: Pam, David and John (of Seattle). Tom Costello was their first cousin who died a few years back.

The significance of Granger House Museum to Mar-ion is that it has been preserved with much of its his-tory, including diaries and photos. It is the only restored middle-class family home in the area, representing the American Victorian era. The 1879 brick carriage house is a virtually untouched treasure and the only one of its design in the Midwest. Listed on the National Reg-iser of Historic Places, the Granger House represents the lifestyle of a middle class family living in late 19th century Marion.

Barb Feller had contact with John in England in 1987.

"He was a most interesting and funny fellow and very smart. He worked in intelligence during World War II. He also wrote a book that includes great stories that

we have. The family says we can publish it, so we're looking into that. It includes great stories of their life in Marion."

While Feller was hosting the Granger family mem-bers, she and husband Steve were gaining a new family member. She kept getting phone calls on the progress of the delivery of their first grand child.

"I was a little distracted," Feller said.Daughter Heidi delivered Max right at 5 p.m. about

the time the Granger relatives were wrapping up their visit, but everything turned out well.

And at the end of the visit, Pam and David quietly presented a donation for the home to Barb.

"It was from the estate of Tom Costello. A check for $30,000 which they gave us to help preserve the home and enhance the history. It is a very generous donation that we will put in the prservation fund and we hope to grow a good nest egg with it."

"They didn't want to give a public speech or make a big deal of it. They quietly gave it to us at the end of the day. We are thrilled. We had been in contact with them since about April when we first heard they were think-ing about visiting us. They said they had something to give us, but we had no idea. It was just wonderful to meet them," Feller said.


Granger descendants visit home and give generous gift

Many memories and tears went into new playgroundIndian Creek Elementary’s Rainbow Playground unveiled

By Sarah Eckhoff and Corey MunsonTimes News

Every time you look at the rain-bow slide, remember it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rain-bow,” said Amy Tersinar during the dedication of the Rainbow Play-ground at Indian Creek Elementary, Monday, Aug. 15.

This is a very personal reminder for Tersinar who, as co-chair of the playground committee, has worked tirelessly to build a safe and mag-nificent structure for area children. But on a personal level, it also stands as a memorial to Maddeson Tersinar, Amy’s daughter who lost a fight to Ewing’s Sarcoma cancer two years ago when she was seven.

In the midst of tears and celebra-tion, the Rainbow Playground was introduced to Marion on Monday. The project became a rallying point for the Tersinar family and commu-nity on the whole.

A 12-member playground com-mittee was formed with Kim Sleezer and Amy Tersinar as co-chairs. Immediately, the committee set to work on a fundraising cam-paign in hopes to make good on their dream to build a “truly inclu-

sive” playground to accommodate students of all physical needs.

The Linn-Mar District provided

the committee a base sum of mon-ey to complete a basic playground structure, but the committee would

need more than that to make their handicap accessible playground dream come true.

“We needed every cent to make this happen,” Indian Creek Elemen-tary Pricipal Tina Monroe said at

the unveiling. To supplement what the district

provided, the committee set goals to raise $80,000 for the playground structure and an additional $25,000 for the purchase and installation of a special surface suitable for wheel-chair and walker access.

With the help of the surrounding communities, the committee met its goals and then some. As of July 31, the playground campaign had re-ceived over $210,000 in funds from Indian Creek families, commu-nity members and local businesses. Grant awards, the Linn-Mar district and the Linn-Mar foundation also contributed to the total.

Playground Committee co-chair Kim Sleezer is appreciative of all the community has done to show their support. “We have met or ex-ceeded every goal we’ve set,” she told the Linn-Mar School Board at a meeting Aug. 8. In not so many words, she conveyed that she couldn’t be happier with the out-come of the project.

Maddeson’s Memorial Fund con-tributed $21,000 to the playground, and a large portion of private do-nors also gave to the fund in Mad-deson’s honor.

The all-inclusive Indian Creek Elementary Playground can be found at Indian Creek Elementary School at 2900 Indian Creek Rd. in Marion.

“Maddeson’s spirit was there to guide us all along,” Monroe said.

— Times photo by Corey MunsonChildren play on the ‘Rainbow Playground’ at Indian Creek Elementary in Marion. The playground was dedicated at an event Monday, Aug. 15.

Focused on library expansion


Doug Raber’s library career has taken him from his native Indiana to Illinois,

New York, Tennessee and Ferndale, Mich., before bringing him to Marion in March to begin his new job as di-rector of the Marion Public Library.

“I’m really looking forward to working for the people of Marion and providing them with the best li-brary service possible,” said Raber at the time. “Marion is a dynamic and growing community and its support for its library is gratifying.”

He replaces former director Susan Kling who retired in February.

Raber and his wife, Jessy (Jessica), moved to Mairon from Ferndale, a suburb of Detroit, where they spent the last three years when he was the director of the Ferndale Public Li-brary. He helped oversee the renova-tion of their library building.

He said his wife is “a great sushi chef.” He likes Indian cuisine. He is the author of two books and a number of journal articles.

When Raber was a child, his family moved from Indianapolis to Bloomington, Ind., when his father took a job at Indiana University. He considers Bloomington his home-town, and graduated both high school and college from there. He has a Ph.D from Indiana University.

“After World War II, my dad earned his masters degree in history but then he switched to library scienc-es,” Raber said. “So, I’ve followed in his footsteps. I was a reader when I was a kid, staying up late reading by flashlight under the covers. I really liked science fiction and non-fiction, and the ‘All About Books’ series.”

Before his library academic career, he was the political sciences subject specialist for the libraries at SUNY/Buffalo, the Director for the public library at Harvard, Illinois, and the Head of Reference at Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, Ind. He was in library education for 18 years at the Universities of Tennessee and Missouri, and served two years as the Interim Director of the library school at Tennessee.

After teaching he said, “I got the bug to participate in librarianship again. We enjoyed our stay in Fern-dale, but Detroit is a big city with an

Eastern feel to it. We wanted to be in a midsize, midwest city. Marion is growing and hasn’t suffered as much from the economic downturn. My sister works for the Ames Public Li-brary and my wife’s family is in Mis-souri, so this area really appealed to us. I really wanted to come here.”

During his upcoming tenure, he’ll be looking at Marion Public Library expansion.

“Marion gained something like 8,000 residents in the last census,”

said Raber. “It’ll be bigger by the next census. Already this library is packed and we’re running out of room. There’s no doubt we have to think now about the library of the future. We have two tasks: One, we have to address services and collec-tions. Who is our audience and how are their needs changing? And then, two, where to put all the materials?

“I think we will expand right here. I don’t see us any place but here. The city is looking at an expanded up-

town cultural district, creating a cul-tural destination. Having the library a part of that is very valuable. We want to use this as a base and expand from here.”

When asked if he had a favorite book, he said, “So many. Absolutely impossible to name one. In Ferndale we recently had a community-wide reading program that focused on ‘The Maltese Falcon’. It was a great movie, but as a book, written in the 1920s, it’s still very contemporary, it’s so well-written. It’s a fast moving short book.”

While Raber likes books, he also has a large record (vinyl) collection, from rock ‘n roll to jazz.

“My wife wants me to digitalize it,” he said.

Raber has also played in rock bands all his life. “I’m a drummer, who plays a little guitar. I’m really into Afro-pop music lately. It’s fas-cinating, like jazz.” He also hopes to revive his golf game.

In his first month on the job, he said, “I’ve met a lot of terrific people. I’ve just joined the Rotary. That’s a good bunch of people. I’ve just been getting a feel of the city. and finding out how the library fits in the com-munity. So much has happened in a month. It feels right being here. The staff has made me feel very welcome. It feels like the place I’m supposed to be.”


Faith-based group aids needy in Marion


Marion Cares, a local faith-based non-profit, welcomed its new direc-tor Joe Polzin in June.

Polzin has served churches as a pastor for over 25 years, most re-cently as Senior Pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids.

“I have always been really fo-cussed on the community,” Polzin said. “I looked at the board [of Marion Cares] and saw the kind of ministry they accomplish, I was re-ally impressed.”

Marion Cares has a variety of programs in the area, including of-fering free lunches to students over summer break from school and various activities and clubs. Marion Cares also heads up a backpack program in which families from local churches 'adopt' a Marion or Linn-Mar student, filling a back-pack full of school supplies.

It is into this daunting task of car-ing for the needy students of an en-tire community that Polzin has now stepped.

“There are so many organiza-tions and businesses in this area that want to do good, and I believe Marion Cares lets them do that,” Polzin said. “It allows partnerships to happen.”

Polzin is a 1981 graduate of Con-cordia College, Ann Arbor, Mich., and 1985 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo.

His passion for serving youth has led him to plant an inner-city mis-sion, bring leadership to a church

food bank and reach out to students at George Washington High School, Cedar Rapids.

He is a Rotarian, belonging to Ro-tary clubs in Iowa and Florida, and also serves the community through Ready by 21, Junior Achievement, and Cedar Rapids Area Subsidized Housing, Inc.

Polzin and his wife Natalie have lived in Cedar Rapids since 2002 and have 5 children.

Marion Cares was founded in 2007, when three Christian busi-ness men gathered for coffee to ponder how the children of the Azure Apartments might be helped. One week later, 14 community leaders joined forces to provide academic and spiritual support. In all, 14 congregations have joined forces to passionately serve Christ for children.

For more information on Polzin or Marion Cares, visit the organiza-tion's website at www.marioncares.org, or call 319-377-5344.

Joe Polzin

Polzin tapped to head Marion Cares

New library director excited about future Marion plans

— Times photos by Cary J. Hahn New Marion Public Library Director Doug Raber started his duties recently, taking over from retiring Director Susan Kling. Raber is preparing to start running with the library’s plans for ex-pansion in the next several years.

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This includes the pro-posed amphitheater


The Marion Parks Board gave its approval to a 25-30 year master plan for Lowe

Park Thursday, July 7, it was later endorsed by the City Council in Au-gust.

“We sought to create a unique destination which works on various scales,” said Mike Bell with RDG Planning and Design.

One of the major changes at the park called for in this package is an amphitheater. The amphitheater has been given a $1.2 million budget by planners, and is considered a priority by board members.

Though final plans are still a ways

off, the proposed amphitheater would include a 50 foot wide by 30 foot deep stage with two levels on it. Stone seat-ing for 300 spectators would surround the front of the stage and a lawn area with a capacity of about 800.

The stage is covered by a large leaf shaped dome which would dou-ble as civic art.

“The idea is it will look like art - fit into the environment - but also offer protection for those on stage,” Bell said.

Other new features to the park highlighted at the meeting include a rain water retention pond near the amphitheater and accompanying re-flection or meditation quiet area on the pond’s shore, shelters, restrooms and concessions at the amphitheater, about 3.5 miles of surfaced trails on the park grounds, additional paths created as mowed paths, tall prairie grass, additional parking, a water splash pad, and baseball, softball and soccer fields.

The master plan replaces on older plan developed several years ago, and seeks to develop the park as an arts and entertainment destination for the region.

Later in the year, the amphithe-ater project has received a huge shot in the arm with $175,000, from the Iowa Great Places fund.

“This grant really kick starts the project,” said Richard Fox, Director of Marion Parks and Recreation De-

partment. “This is the initial funding we went after and it will really help with the project.”

The grant request was written by Karen Hoyt of Marion who also serves on the amphitheater advisory board.

Fox said the funds would go to verifying the location for the amphi-theater on the Lowe Park grounds, as well as some initial dirt work to level off the spot. Grading should start in spring 2012.

“This is a good start,” he said. “But we have a long way to go.”

The project received the go ahead from the Marion City Council last month after engineering plans from RDG Planning and Design passed the Parks Board.

“The Park It committee, Marion Parks and Recreation and other city departments have been working with RDG to bring this project to fruition,” President of the Marion Chamber of Commerce Jill Ackerman said. “It will be a beautiful addition to Lowe Park. The amphitheater is a sculpture in and of itself and will be located along the proposed sculpture trail for Lowe Park.”

Ackerman credits Hoyt and former Mayor Vic Klopfenstein for spear-heading the amphitheater project.

“Without these two the project wouldn’t exist,” Ackerman said. “We are extremely lucky to have these two individuals in our community.”

Lowe Park plan passes council, paves way for amphitheater

New Chamber event to highlight local restaurants and caterersTimes Staff report

The Marion Chamber of Commerce introduced a new event last year held Saturday, October 1, 2011, called Appetite for Marion.

This new event centered in Uptown Marion’s City Square Park featured live music by The Janey’s Band (blues), food offerings by various Marion restaurants/caterers and a beverage tent. In 2011 there was no admission fee for Appetite for Marion, but it was a 21 and over event and no food or beverages was al-lowed to be carried into the Park.

Appetite for Marion was presented by Marion Chamber Platinum Community Partners – Farmers State Bank, Fosters Heating and Air Conditioning, Philip’s Diamond Shop and Design Center and St. Luke’s Hospital and is a program of the Marion Chamber of Commerce.

A 5K Run/Walk was also held as a part of the festivities on October 1, Spanda Inc. presented Band on the Run 5K Run/Walk which featured a fun route through Marion starting and ending on 6th Avenue just south of City Square Park.

Proceeds from the Run/Walk benefited Cedar Rapids Vision in Motion, a program of Spanda Inc. For more information about Band on the Run 5K Run/Walk, please visit www.spandainc.com.

The mission of the Marion Chamber of Commerce is to provide leadership and advocacy to ensure a growing business environment and to enhance the quality of life in Marion. For information about Appetite for Marion, please visitwww.marioncc.org or call 319-377-6316.

First year of ‘Appetite for Marion’Riley moving to Marion from Muscatine


James Riley started his new job as store manager for Fareway of Marion a few weeks ago,

and is excited for what he sees as a bright future in the community.

“I’m excited, change is good for me,” Riley said. “I am really looking forward to raising the profile of the store and seeing it grow.”

Prior to coming to Marion, Riley was manager of the Muscatine store. The Storm Lake native has been with

the Iowa-based grocery store chain for 25 years.

He is married with two daughters. The change in management was sud-den at the Marion store, so he is still commuting from Muscatine to Mari-on until he can get his family moved.

In addition to changes in the store’s marketing plan and presence in the community, Riley said he personally likes to be active in the communities he works in, participating in various groups while in Muscatine, including United Way, PTO, Big Brother/Big Sister, the local food pantry and the Muscatine Soccer Club.

“My hope is that I can get plugged into Marion as well,” Riley said.

Fareway welcomes new manager

James Riley

— Times Photo by Corey Munson

Mike Bell with RDG Planning and Design shows off a pro-posed design for the Lowe Park Amphitheater Thursday, July 21, during a meeting of the Marion Park board. The bard approved the new master plan and re-ferred the matter to the full City Council for its consideration.

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Plans for move to be developed and implemented over the next several years


Marion’s First United Methodist Church, a downtown fixture in parts of three centuries, is moving. Maybe not next week, or even next year, but plans have been slowly germinating for at

least five years.“We purchased 37 and a half acres last December which is between REC

Drive and 35th Avenue. It sits in the Northwest corner at Highway 13 and REC Drive. Right now we are landlocked,” said church business adminis-trator Craig Liscum.

Church offices and other activities are located in the old Carnegie Li-brary at 1298 7th Avenue. Worship entrances of the church are at the corner of 8th Avenue and 12th Street.

“We’re running out of ministry space. Our youth need a place to play and have activities outside. We just don’t have much of that here,” said Liscum.

“The buildings are well used in all spaces,” Lead Pastor Rev. Mike Mor-gan said. “The purpose of a church is to reach out to the people. The new

location will provide just such an opportunity. The new facility will serve the community better. Marion is seeing red hot growth and we plan to be in just the right area.”

Liscum and his wife, Johanna, just baptized their five month old daugh-ter, Caitlyn, Sunday, September 11.

“I love it here. My wife and I were married here. We consider our church as family. They are all supportive of each other.”

They take their daughter to the church’s day care center. Liscum is a former practicing Registered Nurse who switched to business, earning his business degree from Mount Mercy College (now University). He is also a volunteer member of the Marion Fire Department. He and his wife, an Ankeny native who graduated from Cornell College at Mt. Vernon, met at Pictured Rocks Camp near Monticello.

Both Liscum and Pastor Morgan say everything is up for discussion right now. There are no specific plans yet, other than the land purchase. Liscum said they are having discus-sion with architects who are talk-ing to church members about needs such as kitchen space, music areas, and of course, the sanctuary.

“It will be a phased program,” Liscum said. “Priorities will include worship, education, youth and wor-ship space. Once that is made and a design is approved then we’ll start the fund raising process.”

When they say everything is up for discussion, that includes the historic church windows which are part of the church sanctuary as well as the old Carnegie Library.

They say it could take 20 years for the complete building and ex-pansion but the start of it all should come way before then.

According to the Marvin Oxley history book, the cornerstone of the church was laid in 1895 with the first minister reporting in 1886.

An educational wing was built in the 1960s and the church acquired the Marion Carnegie Public Library building in the mid 1990s.

The needs for a new building are many.

“It is 300 feet from a handicapped parking spot to the nearest pew,” Liscum said. “We would like to be more handicapped accessible. About every space is used for adult and children’s Sunday School and other activities.

“Our average church service attendance is 650. We have four services to fit everybody in at 7:45, 8:30, 9:45 and 11 a.m. Sunday morning. And there is something going on practically every day of the week from Bible Study, scouts, A-A, bell choir and youth. We have a very active campus.”

They have a summer feeding program for school students called “FLY,” which stands for feeding lunches to youth.

Pastor Morgan has served as minister of the church for eight years.

“A lot of good things have happened at this location over a hundred plus years,” he said. “But the building is not the church. The people are the church. Every inch of this building has meaning and although it is hard to leave a place you have loved, we have to do it. Our last vote passed by over 90 percent for the move.”

Pastor Morgan anticipates the church will retain a downtown presence. “We stand on the rich heritage of First United Methodist Church to build

a new future for the Kingdom of God,” he said. “I think we as church mem-bers, the body of Christ, are going in the right direction.”

— Times photos by Cary J. Hahn and Corey MunsonFirst United Methodist Church has been a fixture in downtown Marion since 1895, but within the next few years the congrega-tion will transition from its antiquated building to a new facility at REC Drive and 35th Avenue. (Above) Pastor Mike Morgan and Business Administrator Craig Liscum stand by the church sign.

First United Methodist Church plans move and expansion

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C M Y K

Plan calls for relaying brick on 12 blocks uptown


As the saying goes, you have to start somewhere. For the city of Marion, the blocks surrounding City Square Park

will be the first phase of the Central Corridor Project which aims to change how traffic moves through the city.

Starting next year the city will undertake a streetscaping of three blocks each of Sixth and Seventh avenues and 10th and 11th streets in a “#” symbol around City Square Park.

The plan calls for the current streets to be torn up and replaced by a layer of concrete with dark red brick on top.

The brick will stretch from curb to curb, de-spite objections to this from one councilmember.

Kay Lammers expressed her concern about the cost of the project.

“I will not be voting for the curb to curb op-tion,” Lammers said during a work session ahead of the vote taken Thursday, Dec. 1.

She was in support of a more limited brick lay-ing plan which would have only put brick in the center lains surrounded on either side concrete.

This point of view was not shared by other members of the council and the plan was ap-proved less her vote.

In addition to work on the street, this project also improves sidewalks in the twelve block area.

Councilman Craig Adamson said he hopes the improvements will be a boon for uptown busi-nesses.

“I hope this will inspire local businesses to step up and reinvest in their buildings,” Adam-son said.

Council approves Uptown streetscaping

— Times graphic by Corey Munson image courtesy of Google

An overhead view of the area slated for improvement. Streets will be repaved with brick next year.

Kids Inc. moves offices to Marion, celebrates new ownerCompany also plans to open new facility in Coralville next year


Kids Inc., a locally owned child care and preschool facility, is moving its

management office to Marion, on the heels of the business’ purchase earlier this year by Kory McNeal and the announcement in November of a massive new facility to be opened in Coralville.

“We’ve kind of grown into a quiet giant,” McNeal said. “We don’t go out there pushing our programs, but

we’re very popular.”McNeal said moving the business

offices for Kids Inc. made sense to him since he is a long time Marion resident himself and the company is very invested in the community, with one facility in the city and manag-ing after school programs in several Linn-Mar elementary schools.

The new facility in Coralville will care for 215 kids during the school year and 290 in summer time. It will employ about 50 people, bring total staffing levels for the company up to near about 230 people between Mari-on, Cedar Rapids, and Coralville.

“Things finally came together for the couple years,” McNeal said.

Moving forward McNeal said there are no additional expansions planned in the near term.

“We’re going to take care of the business here first,” he said.

He bought the business in 2011 af-ter service as Executive Director for 12 years.

Kory McNeal

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New sports complex will likely mean big business for Marion and surrounding areas

By Tom Fruehling Metro Sports Report.com

One way or another, builders of the proposed Prospect Meadows ball fields will be given the land they

need north of Marion, though details have yet to be worked out.

An agreement was put together in Septem-ber.

“There is no question that we will make it happen,” Linn County Supervisor Linda Langs-ton said on Tuesday. “It’s just a matter now of

how to go about it. We are enormously sup-portive of the project. And we’re certain we can meet their construction schedule.”

A local non-profit group for almost two years has developed plans to construct a 17-diamond softball and baseball complex in the area to meet a growing demand for playing fields and to attract major tournaments.

The plan now calls for the $10.4 million fa-cility to be built on 120 acres of county-owned farm land southeast of Highway 13 and County Home Road adjacent to the Abbe Center. De-velopers have asked the supervisors to donate the land, saying it’s the only way to make the project financially feasible. Private fundraising along with anticipated grants would be used to raise the rest of the money.

Construction is to begin next year with the

first games being played in 2013.“Our meetings with the board have been

very positive,” said Marion businessman Rich-ard Bice, one of the prime movers of Prospect Meadows Ball Fields. “We’re optimistic that it’s going to go through. There are no serious issues. It’s just a matter of timing.”

Langston said that while it’s not common for the county to give away land, it is not unprec-edented. She cited the city of Cedar Rapids as deeding property for the Science Station and Czech Museum as examples of non-profit orga-nizations getting similar donations.

The 120 acres of farm land has rented for many years for either pasture or row crops. Langston said annual income varies from a few thousand dollars to as much as $30,000. She said the county has no long-range plans for the

use of the property and that it would be a benefit if the property is developed.

“We see restaurants, gas stations, maybe even a hotel being built around the fields,” she said. “That would certainly build up the prop-erty tax base.”

It could also be a boon for the city of Marion if, as expected, it eventually annexes the land just north of its current borders.

Planners of the diamonds have stressed all along that the project holds great economic de-velopment promise as well providing quality of life benefits.

Langston said that while details of the land transfer are still being discussed, the current thinking is to have a two-year temporary ar-rangement until the gift is made outright.

Supervisors say Prospect Meadows to get land


Marion Physical Therapy celebrates its 15th anni-versary this week with a

community celebration.Founder and owner Jean Hammill

said she’s thrilled with how far the company has come.

“I always wanted to be my own boss,” she said. “This was my chance to do that.”

Hammill opened the doors to Mar-ion PT on Aug. 19, 2006. Since then she has overseen expansions physi-cally in the size of the office and in the number of staff which now fill that space.

“Something I am proud of is that

we are similar to a family practice doctor in that we get to see patients over a long period of time,” Hammill said. “This allows us to follow them and to see them grow.”

Hammill said the last three years have been a period of real growth for the clinic. They have added two loca-tions in the time, one in Mt. Vernon in 2008 and another in Center Point

in 2010, as well as expanded their Marion office.

Though the company’s primary fo-cus is as outpatient orthopedic clinic, Marion PT also offers message thera-py and “Stay Fit” classes.

Hammill works with patients who have knee, hip and rotator cup issues and can help treat dizziness, back pain and stroke recovery, just to name

a few services.But before the clinic was even

founded, Hammill said she felt a part of this community.

She and her husband Walt Ham-mill moved to Marion with their chil-dren in 1972.

“We are embedded in this com-munity,” Hammill said. “You have to know your location, we feel we do.”

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C M Y K


year.”Of the Marion Enterprise Center he said:“Marion transitioned from just 25 acres of shovel

ready ground four years ago to now over 500 acres of ground ready for industrial development. We now have the available ground for industrial and commercial ex-pansion to help diversify the property tax collection base.”

Bouska also reversed his campaign stance on a new police station for Marion, coming out in support of building a new facility.

“The present police station lacks sufficient space to operate effectively,” Bouska said. “The city council had a $12 million funding request for a new one.”

He closed with some observation of the role of May-

or in Marion.“The city of Marion is run by the City Manager, not

by the Mayor,” Bouska said. “This was made abun-dantly clear to me when I mentioned a business leader that I would run for Mayor. Without missing a beat he said ‘You can’t change anything.’ Well, he’s right. I’m only one vote of seven and I need more support. This is a new, challenging, and extremely rewarding position that I’ve taken on, and I look forward to working with my fellow councilmen for the betterment of the city.”

He closed calling on higher power for assistance.“In my case I’m sure I’m going to have to ask for

some divine assistance to complete my four year term,” Bouska said, changing the paper crash helmet to a large hat in the style the Pope would wear.

The State of the City speech was hosted by the Ce-dar Rapids/Marion League of Women Voters and the Marion/East Cedar Rapids Rotary Club.

From page a1

Speech: Offered high praise for many city projects

— Times photos by Corey MunsonMarion Mayor Snooks Bouska gestures during the annual ‘State of the City’ ad-dress Tuesday, Jan. 24.

Preliminary Plat plan for redevelopment approved by council


The Marion City Council ap-proved a preliminary plat plan for redevelopment of

the East End Shopping Center in Marion Thursday, Aug. 18.

Though a preliminary plat plan of this sort is used to confirm com-pliance to city codes and regula-tions, it also gives the council some idea of what could be in store for the area.

The plan calls for the demolition of the existing structures, with the land available for construction of up to eight new buildings with an eye to office and retail businesses and restaurants.

“This is a staged development [meaning it will be done over time],” Marion Planning and De-velopment Director Tom Treharne said. “They hope to see things hap-pen out there next summer.”

The current facility houses the Linn County office of Iowa State University Extension, Marion Physical Therapy, and others. The building’s parking lot was also home to the Marion Farmers Mar-ket.

Treharne said the developers are working with the tenants to find so-lutions.

“It appears they are doing every-thing they can to keep the tenants they have now,” Treharne said.

The redevelopment is being un-dertaken by two local companies, MJM Marion Holdings and Abode Construction.

The plans submitted to coun-cil call for the construction of two

primary retail and office buildings on the site. The larger of the two, a two story structure, will be located to the south of, or behind, the cur-rent strip. Treharne said one option was for the developer to build the two story building first, move the current tenants into it, and then tear down the existing structure.

In addition to the two story build-ing at the south end of the lot, the plans also call for a new strip of store fronts to be built closer to Seventh Avenue, with lots available on the roadway itself for restaurant or convenience stores. The devel-opers would build and manage the

two larger mall style buildings and would rent out the lots along Sev-enth to businesses to build on.

Treharne said total development costs are expected to run about $20 million for the whole area. He said this would mean a substantial in-crease in value for the center, which is currently worth about $2.7 mil-lion.

The preliminary plat plan is ap-proved for two years. If the de-veloper does not move ahead and submit a final plat plan, then the preliminary plan will have to be re-submitted and reapproved.

Plans form for ‘east end’

— Submitted graphicA preliminary plat plan for the East End Shopping Center was submitted to and approved by Marion City Council last week. The plans show two main buildings and available lots for other businesses.

Pre-Construction | General Contracting | Design/Build | Construction Management

Dedicated partners inbuilding a stronger community.

Commerce:a21 new members joined the Marion Chamber in 2011aInaugural year for Read to Lead business book club and Marion Leadership in Action classCommunity:aImplemented new Marion Chamber Platinum Community Partner program with generous support from Farmers State Bank, Fosters Heating and Air Conditioning, Philip’s Diamond Shop & Design Center and St. Luke’s HospitalaCreated two new community events, Appetite for Marion and Peppermint Walka2012 Main Street Iowa applicantCulture:aLowe Park Amphitheatre design documents completedaSupported local musicians and artists throughout the year via events and programing

Progress in 2011

www.marioncc.org

Progress

Progress 2012

Documents

Transcript of Progress 2012