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| Mercy Hospital The Mercy Touch, there was a vow, a horse race, a deal with the city, and a matching grant all figure in the founding and growth of Mercy Medical Center. The vow is a part of the life of all Sisters of Mercy "to care for the poor and the sick." So, when Cedar Rapids needed hospital beds in 1900, that vow motivated the Sisters to establish Mercy Hospital in a small house on 3rd Avenue and 6th Street SE. This 15-bed house was soon too small, and the Sisters looked for money and a site to build a larger hospital. two men who owned the racing rights at the county fair gave a day's racing receipts toward the proposed building. The city council offered a piece of land in exchange for perpetual free care for city employees. Fortunately, a merchant who had volunteered to match the Sisters' funds said that the city's offer was no bargain and threatened to withdraw his own offer if the city had its way. He was right: Today, the 4th Street railroad tracks would have been at the front door of the hospital and I-380 at the side. So the Sisters looked for a new site and raised money, going from parish to parish and to nearby towns. In 1903 they were able to construct a 100-bed hospital at Mercy's present location. In subsequent years, Mercy hospital was enlarged, the Hall Radiation Center and Hallmar were added, and in-patient and out-patient programs made Mercy Medical Center the leader in health-care in eastern Iowa. Mercy's first patient in 1900 was a 72-year-old housewife from Arlington, Iowa, who had cataract surgery. The first 48 patients were an international group, born in Austria, Norway, Ireland, England, Syria, and the United States. Mercy Mission Statement: To care for the sick and enhance the health of the communities we serve, guided by the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy. Mercy Vision Statement: To be the health care provider of choice. Today, more than 2,100 employees carry on the Mercy Medical Center tradition, offering you and your family the highest quality professional care enhanced by The Mercy Touch. Founded on the principles of the Sisters of Mercy. Mercy works to extend its health care ministry
in the Cedar Rapids area and Eastern Iowa. St. Luke's Hospital 125 years ago, the people of Cedar Rapids saw a need for a community hospital after a homeless man was injured in a failed attempt hopping a freight train. He later died because there wasn’t a hospital to treat his injuries. This tragic event sparked a community effort to build Cedar Rapids’ first hospital. Since its humble beginning, St. Luke’s Hospital has grown from 15 to 532 beds and serves a seven-county area surrounding Cedar Rapids. St. Luke’s has a legacy of being one of the best hospitals in the country. In 2008, St. Luke’s had much to be proud of – it was one of the few hospitals in the state named a Top 100 Heart Hospital, and we completed a three year modernization project, which positions the hospital to continue providing the best quality care for our patients and families. St. Luke’s has been a healthcare leader in Iowa since its formation as the first hospital in Cedar Rapids 125 years ago. In 2008, St. Luke’s completed a nearly three year modernization project. At St. Luke's, our mission is to give the healthcare we'd like our loved ones to receive. Our mission runs deep - making patients and their families our number one priority. Eastern Iowa Airport Servicing Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, Iowa The Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport can be traced back to a private airfield established in the early 1920s by Dan Hunter. The airfield was located just north of Highway 30 and west of what is now Bowling Street SW. The service at that time consisted of a one-man private charter service and pilot training. Airmail service into Cedar Rapids began on July 10, 1928. Due to inoperable conditions during bad weather, the old “Hunter Field” was phased out and in 1947 a new airport was dedicated in Cedar Rapids, which is the present location. The new airport was financed by a bond issue, which had previously been voted down twice. In 1939, Jim Wathan, a former student of Dan Hunter, went to work for Hunter as a civilian pilot trainer. In 1944, Wathan and Hunter went into business together, forming a partnership that lasted until 1952 when Wathan retired to Florida as a corporate pilot. Two years later, Wathan returned to Cedar Rapids and started the Wathan Flying Service. The late Donald Hines piloted the Cedar Rapids Airport from a cornfield facility to the regional operation it is today. Hines was an original member of a longtime chairman of the Airport Commission, which has supervised airport operations since 1945. He resigned in 1973 after 28 years. He died two years later. Under his guidance, the airport grew from little more than a dream to a multi-million dollar operation. According to Harold Ewoldt, former chamber official, “Don Hines single-handedly brought an airport to Cedar Rapids. It wouldn’t have been done without him. And, over the years, the airport became his monument.” When he first became interested in local airport matters, Hines had little experience with the fledgling aviation industry. After he came to Cedar Rapids, he and Karl Blaise were appointed to Jaycees to push a bond issue that was later approved. Hines then went to Washington D.C. to see one of the military airports being built across the country in response to the Japanese attack on the United States military base at Pearl Harbor. Even though the airport was funded by the military and finished in 1944, it was never used for wartime purposes. The airport was operated under the city Parks Department until a city election established the airport commission in 1945. Hines was elected chairman at the first meeting. He was instrumental in establishing commercial passenger service to Cedar Rapids. On April 27, 1947, the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, with runways 5,400 feet long, was dedicated. During that first year, United Airlines initiated sustained east-west passenger service to the city and had more than 3,000 customers. After a 10-year effort by city civic leaders, headed by Hines, Ozark Air Lines began north-south operations in the spring of 1957. In 1969, the airport handled 31 commercial flights per day and recorded 353,000 passengers a year. The current terminal was dedicated in 1986 with then U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole in attendance. In 1997, the airport’s name was changed to The Eastern Iowa Airport to better reflect the area the airport serves. The number of customers using the airport has steadily increased over the years. In 2000, 1 million passengers were served in one year, marking a milestone in the airport’s history. Wrights took wing in Cedar Rapids. While man’s first flight was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the claim can be made that aviation took wing in Cedar Rapids. For it was here that Wilbur and Orville Wright were inspired to reach for the sky. The Wright brothers’ father, Bishop Milton Wright, was a preacher with the United Brethren Church who was called to Cedar Rapids when his sons were young boys. The family lived on what is now Third Street SE and the two brothers attended the old Adams School on Third Street near Fifth Avenue. History records that in the autumn of 1878, when Wilbur was 11 and Orville 7, their father brought home a French-made toy that flew under its own power. Made of cork, paper and bamboo, the small “helicoptere” was propelled by a rubber band. Fascinated by the invention, the boys played with it until it wore out. Later the boys tinkered with bikes and kites. The Wrights moved to Indiana in 1881, but continued to experiment with flying contraptions. Wilbur Wright died 1912 and Orville Wright in 1948. Cedar Rapids remembers them still. The road to the airport is named Wright Bros. Boulevard. In addition, the brothers have a school named after them; Wright Elementary School is in the northeast quadrant. RAGBRAI
RAGBRAI’s Beginnings & The First Year, August 26-31, 1973, the Register’s bicycling tradition began with an idea (a kind of a challenge) between Des Moines Register feature writer/copy editor John Karras, an avid bicyclist, and Don Kaul, author of The Des Moines Register’s “Over The Coffee” column. Karras suggested to Kaul that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective. Kaul, also an accomplished rider, lived in Washington, D.C., and wrote his column from The Register’s Washington Bureau. Kaul liked the idea but issued the challenge that he would ride across Iowa if Karras rode with him. Karras agreed and the plan was approved by the managing editor. Coordination of the ride was assigned to Don Benson, public relations director, and the RAGBRAI trio was formed. Benson served as coordinator of the ride until his retirement in 1991, when Jim Green took over the duties. Kaul and Karras then invited ‘a few friends’ (the public) to ride along and the RAGBRAI tradition began. One of, if not the longest, largest and oldest bicycle touring events in the world. RAGBRAI was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1990, Hiawatha in 2004, and Marion 1994, each 1 time.
KGAN TV CBS2 KGAN TV CBS2 at 600 Old Marion Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA, phone (319) 395~9060 or 800~642~6140, email news@kgan dotcom,
KCRG-TV9-ABC KCRG Cedar Rapids Studios at 501 2nd Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Phone: (319) 398~8422.
The Gazette Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE: LNT) is a public utility holding company that incorporated in Madison, Wisconsin in 1981. Alliant Tower in downtown Cedar Rapids since 1972 is 285 foot tall. Alliant comprises several subsidiaries: Interstate Power and Light Company (IP&L) is a public utility that generates and distributes electricity, and purchases and distributes natural gas. The company got its start in 1925 as the Interstate Power Company (IPC) and which was a consolidation of several small companies scattered across northern Iowa and southern Minnesota, the largest of these properties being the company in Dubuque, Iowa - and which would become its headquarters. It expanded greatly in the late 1920s to include operations in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Manitoba (Canada). One of the largest purchases in the late 1920s was the purchase of what became its northern Minnesota territory from the Wilbur Foshay interests. During the 1940s, IPC divested itself of all its operations that were not part of its main territory in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. The Wisconsin operations were sold to Wisconsin Power and Light, now the eastern half of Alliant's operations. In the 1970s IES constructed the Duane Arnold Energy Center. IES and IPC merged in the mid-1990s to form IP&L. Interstate Power and Light Company (IP&L) is a public utility that generates and distributes electricity, and purchases and distributes natural gas. Alliant Energy also provides several non-regulated services, including ground transportation and energy engineering (such as wind and geothermal energy). In 2007 it acquired 200 MW Buffalo Creek Wind Farm at Hampton, Iowa from Wind Capital Group. Diversity Commitment: We recognize, respect and appreciate the valuable and different perspectives that each of us brings to the work environment, our company and our customers. Corporate Diversity Policy: A core corporate value of Alliant Energy is to be a responsible corporate citizen, caring for the environment and the communities where we do business and encouraging diversity in our employee and supplier ranks. Diversity Initiatives: Whether it's company-wide training or workgroup-led events, we take pride in celebrating diversity every day.
Corn/Maize Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays; IPA: /meɪz/), known as "corn" by most English-speakers, is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, maize spread to the rest of the world. Maize/Corn is the most widely grown crop in the Americas (332 million tonnes annually in the United States alone). Hybrid maize, due to its high grain yield as a result of heterosis ("hybrid vigor"), is preferred by farmers over conventional varieties. While some maize varieties grow up to 7 metres (23 ft) tall, most commercially grown maize has been bred for a standardized height of 2.5 metres (8 ft). Sweet corn is usually shorter than field-corn varieties. Largest Employers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 2004: Many Stats have changed due to flood, and U. S. economy.
Rockwell Collins 7,162
Mercy Medical Center 2,862
Cedar Rapids Community Schools 2,860
AEGON Insurance Group 2,632
St. Luke's Hospital 2,400
Amana Refrigeration Products 2,300
MCI 1,880
City of Cedar Rapids 1,700
Hy-Vee Food Stores 1,691
Alliant Energy 1,650
McLeodUSA Incorporated 1,645 All figures are approximate? | |
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