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Linn-Mar, Iowa City districts opt to not hold classes Tuesday

Grace King

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CEDAR RAPIDS — Security will be increased Tuesday at six schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District that serve as polling places on Election Day.

The Linn-Mar and Iowa City districts have chosen not to have school on Election Day to accommodate increased traffic at the schools that were listed by county auditors as precinct sites.

Cedar Rapids district spokeswoman Heather Butterfield said the district wants students in the classroom as much as possible, and that includes Election Day. Hosting precincts in public schools — required by law since they are taxpayer-funded facilities — also is an opportunity for students to see civic engagement in action.

“We see it as an incredible learning opportunity for them to be able to connect what they’re learning about in the classroom around elections to real life,” said Butterfield, adding that one of the district’s goals is for students to be engaged in the community and registered voters upon graduation.

“Our hope is that these kids are growing up, seeing voting taking place, seeing the community come together to make decisions, and when they turn 18, they register to vote and maybe even return to their school as a polling location to take part in that civic engagement,” Butterfield said.

The Linn County Auditor’s Office will station a sheriff’s deputy at each of the six schools as an “additional layer of security,” Butterfield said.

The Cedar Rapids schools serving as precincts are Wright Elementary, Maple Grove Elementary, Erskine Elementary, West Willow Elementary, Cleveland Elementary and Washington High.

The district also canceled evening activities Tuesday with the exception of before-and after-school care provided by Champions.

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said elections officials are required by law to consider government buildings as precincts first because they are taxpayer-funded and do not cost the county additional dollars. Precinct locations must be compliant with the most recent requirements from the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure accessibility. This rules out many school buildings that were compliant when they were built but no longer under today’s standards, Miller said.

Miller said he wished districts wouldn’t hold school on Election Day to “free up additional schools to use as polling places” and reduce security concerns. He estimated 1,500 people could pass through any given precinct.

“It’s even more important when parents show up with their kids to vote,” Miller said. “It’s one thing for a government teacher to talk about voting, but the most impressionable way to get students involved and engaged is by students leading by example and exercising their civic obligation to vote in the election,” he said.

“Linn-Mar took the wise route and decided to have in-service days on Nov. 4 and 5,” he said.

Linn-Mar spokeswoman Renee Nelson said this is the first year the district has changed its calendar to accommodate Election Day.

Four buildings — Excelsior Middle, Indian Creek Elementary, Boulder Peak Intermediate and Linn Grove Elementary — are precinct sites, as opposed to just one building used as a precinct in years’ past.

Monday and Tuesday will be staff professional learning days and non-attendance days for students in the Linn-Mar district.

“This change allows us to limit student presence in our buildings during a time when the voting and general public have wider, more unfettered access to our buildings,” Nelson said.

Iowa City district spokeswoman Kristin Pedersen said this is the third year the district has not held classes on Election Day.

“We made this decision as most of our schools serve as precinct locations,” she said.

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com

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Workers were headed back to the corn milling facility to restart production Thursday evening

Tom Barton

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CEDAR RAPIDS — Union workers voted Thursday to ratify a new contract with Cargill, ending a strike that lasted roughly a month.

Workers were headed back to the Cedar Rapids corn milling facility to restart production Thursday evening.

“We are pleased to have our employees back to work to help us continue to safely service our customers,” plant manager Dan Pulis said in a statement Cargill provided to The Gazette.

Nearly 100 workers at Cargill’s corn milling plant near the Cedar River on 16th Street SE have been on strike since Oct. 1 over what they said was a refusal by the company to provide fair pay increases. The collective bargaining agreement between the 93 Cedar Rapids employees and the Minnesota-based crop trader and food maker expired early that day.

Teamsters Local 238, the union representing the striking workers, announced an end to the strike Thursday afternoon, following a successful negotiation it said resulted in a new agreement “meeting the needs of both the workers and the company.”

Neither the union nor Cargill would disclose or comment on the details of the agreement. The union also would not say how many workers voted to ratify the contract.

The Teamsters, in a new release, said the new agreement “reflects necessary compromise but ultimately brings positive terms that will strengthen both Cargill’s workforce and its relationship with the community.”

Jesse Case, principal officer of Teamsters Local 238, called the mutual resolution a “win-win.”

“We look forward to restoring and continuing to build a cooperative relationship with Cargill as we all move forward together,” Case said in a statement provided by the Teamsters.

The union represents both private and public sectors workers across the state in food processing, warehouse, package delivery, public works and other industries.

Cargill said last week it would end employer-funded health care benefits for striking workers as of Friday. If they remained on strike after that, striking workers would be eligible for benefits through a federal act called COBRA, where they would have to pay the full premium of the health care plan.

A federal mediator was brought in with the hopes of bring striking workers and company representatives back to the negotiating table.

Scott Punteney, business agent for Teamsters Local 238, said workers have been falling behind in wage adjustments over the past few contracts, as Cargill has had four profitable years without significant wage increases.

Punteney said workers sought fair treatment and acknowledgment of their hard work and dedication. The union also cited changes to an attendance policy and disregard for the workers who have kept the company’s operations going for years.

Cargill, one of the largest privately owned companies in the world, reported $160 billion in revenues in its 2024 annual report released in August, a $17 billion drop from the previous year.

It was the first time the company's revenue had declined since 2019, and the largest drop in a decade. Cargill Chief Executive Officer Brian Sikes wrote in a letter that “the marketplace our people navigated this year was extremely challenging.”

The U.S. agricultural market is facing a downturn, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasting a decrease in net farm income for 2024.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com

Chic dual space offers new sophistication for an emerging cuisine

Elijah Decious

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

IOWA CITY — After 12 years opening multiple Momofuku locations across North America, the last thing Iowa City restaurateur and chef Sam Gelman wanted to do was open a ramen shop.

But with a rare kind of passion from one chef in his award-winning kitchen at The Webster, it was an opportunity that could not be ignored.

A chic new duo opening this week with seating for fewer than 50 — restaurant on one side, cocktail lounge on the other — is delivering an elevated vision for ramen in a casual, full-service concept.

Paper Crane, a joint venture of executive chef Ed Lee and The Webster owners Sam and Riene Gelman, tentatively opens this week.

If you go

What: Paper Crane

Address: 121 N. Linn St., Iowa City

Hours: To be determined for lunch and dinner service

Website: papercraneic.com

Details: Features elevated ramen dishes and Asian-inspired small plates at a modest price in a lively shop enveloped by chic design. Or, enjoy sake, beer and wine alongside sophisticated cocktails in an intimate, refined lounge.

How is started

Growing up eating an abundance of Asian dishes analogous to ramen, Malaysia native Ed Lee’s new job started in a tongue-in-cheek way.

About nine months into his new job as a cook for The Webster, the former Pullman Bar & Diner sous chef approached owner Sam Gelman about a ramen pop-up.

“Ramen soups and stews are a big overall passion project for me,” Lee said. “I grew up eating a lot of that, and a large part of my earnest and close-to-heart cooking stems from my upbringing.”

With a big kitchen and the know-how, all he needed was to procure the right ingredients.

In Iowa City — which only had one ramen restaurant at that time — he wasn’t sure how seriously diners would take it. Perhaps it was a venture that could become full-time five years down the road, Lee joked with colleagues.

His first ramen pop-up at The Webster in early 2022 was extended for a second night, with plenty of diner interest. The second pop-up, about a year later, sold 400 bowls in two days.

By then, Lee and the Gelmans knew Iowa City was taking ramen seriously enough for a new, independent concept.

The food

Many diners, even experienced ones, have only seen ramen as the “dorm food” purchased in cheap packets.

Needless to say, Paper Crane’s bowls will be a little bit different — even from offerings at Ramen Belly in Iowa City or the Hokkaido Ramen House franchise in Coralville.

As ramen has gained popularity through new U.S. trends, the dish with Japanese and Chinese origins has been the victim of corner cutting by restaurants across the country in favor of simplified, quick service concepts.

“It’s easy for someone to just make a pot of soup, buy the cheapest possible noodles, throw it into a bowl and cover it with a lot of toppings,” Lee said. “What I find lacking is ... that is does not respect the set of origins and authenticity of the dish.”

When done well, it’s a two-day venture with preparation over many hours of simmering, stewing, steeping and straining. A bowl of ramen presented at Paper Crane preserves three layers of flavors in the soup’s base: the stock from animal and vegetable products, a separate tare sauce that infuses soy sauce, and an oil steeped in aromatics like garlic or ginger.

Paper Crane’s specialty noodles are served al dente with a texture that changes as the dish cools in front of you — whether in creamy pork or clear chicken broth. Each hearty bowl is topped with matching meats and traditional ingredients like soft-boiled eggs, bamboo shoots, scallions, bok choy or fish cakes.

Lee’s approach distinguishes his ramen from other restaurants that often focus their attention on the visible toppings that make for eye-catching photos. And, borrowing from The Webster’s ethos, Paper Crane ingredients will be locally sourced, whenever possible.

“This is an almost archaic and traditional way of making ramen, but no one else, as far as I know, does that,” Lee said. “The approach I have is much more in line with ramen shops in Japan.”

In a world that has largely appropriated ramen to capitalize on new trends, he cares most about respecting the dish’s humble origins.

“Ramen, as a dish, is historically blue collar — it’s peasant food,” said Lee, who first came to the United States for school. “I want to remind people of that, and not just slap fancy ingredients and labels on it and charge $30 for a bowl.”

Each bowl can be ordered with small Asian plates, like a crispy karaage chicken with yuzu aioli or a fresh cucumber salad.

The space

In what may seem like a paradox to ramen’s historical origins, the interior of Paper Crane is about as elaborate as its namesake’s art form. The space, previously home to the short-lived Marco’s Island in 2022 and Bashu Chinese Cuisine several years ago, has undergone a remarkable transformation.

“There’s not a surface in there that hasn’t been thought about,” Sam Gelman said. “There’s not a material that isn’t there for a reason.”

Modern wall and ceiling wood paneling resembles origami over the dining room’s communal-style seating. Toward the kitchen, a buffer of Shou Sugi Ban — an intensely charred Japanese style of wood — panels the walls with a deep dimension of black.

At the restaurant’s rear wall, a pop of teal on skinny, vertical subway tiles frames a large window looking into the kitchen. Bar seating lines the kitchen window and the restaurant’s street-facing window, offering patrons a choice of views for people-watching.

A few steps away, a sophisticated lounge awaits behind a floor-to-ceiling curtain. There, diners can enjoy beer, sake and wine, or cocktails designed for a crowd with more sophisticated tastes than the average bar in downtown Iowa City.

“Where do you go for a cocktail that isn’t green and foamy, and full of sugar,” Sam Gelman asked rhetorically.

The answer is: here.

Along the wall, banquette seating is lined by small tables and chairs opposite — perfect for couples catching a drink before dinner or a show. Above it all, large cranes fanning blue auras with their wings envelop the intimate space with elegance.

In quiet contrast to the lively ramen shop, diners won’t be able to order noodles there. The bar menu, modeled after a Japanese Izakaya, instead will offer shareable small plates eaten on skewers and toothpicks — or simply with your hands.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

Home / News / Government & Politics / Campaigns & Elections

Meantime, the U.S. Department of Justice has contacted an unnamed state official about Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s directive, according to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird

Erin Murphy

Why you can trust The Gazette

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

JOHNSTON — At a news conference called to highlight election security efforts in the state, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate on Wednesday responded to questions about his recent order for local elections officials to challenge the ballots of Iowans on a state list of more than 2,000 individuals whose citizenship his office is unclear on.

Also Wednesday, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement that the federal justice department contacted an unnamed Iowa state government official about Pate’s order.

Pate, the state’s top elections official, last week ordered county auditors, who conduct election operations, to instruct poll workers to challenge the ballots of any Iowan who attempts to vote if their name appears on a list provided by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

The list of 2,022 Iowans, according to Pate’s office, is comprised of individuals who at one point indicated on Iowa Department of Transportation documents that they were legal residents but not U.S. citizens who then later attempted to register to vote or voted in an election. What is unknown, Pate said, is whether these individuals became citizens before registering or voting.

According to Pate’s order, those individuals are to cast a provisional ballot. They would then have until the following Monday to provide documentation proving their citizenship. If they provide proof of citizenship at their polling place, they can cast a normal ballot, Pate said.

Registering to vote or voting in Iowa while not having full U.S. citizenship are Class D felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $750 to $7,500.

“We’ve taken every effort available to us to ensure that eligible voters are able to participate in the election process and cast their ballot this November. We take this role of election integrity very seriously,” Pate said during Wednesday’s news conference, which was held at the Iowa Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Operation Center at Iowa National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters.

Iowa AG: Federal government contacted state about list

The U.S. Department of Justice apparently has showed interest in Pate’s directive, according to Bird.

Bird’s statement did not specify who in Iowa state government the federal justice department contacted. When asked for more specifics, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Attorney General’s Office said the justice department contacted “the State” on Tuesday but declined to say who in state government the justice department contacted or details about the conversation.

Both Bird and her office’s spokeswoman, without providing evidence, alleged the federal justice department is attempting to “pressure Iowa into letting noncitizens illegally vote.” It is against federal law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.

The Gazette on Tuesday asked the U.S. Department of Justice whether it had contacted any Iowa state officials. The department declined to comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently challenged a move by Virginia elections leaders to remove 1,600 alleged noncitizens from that state’s voter registration list. The state action was upheld Wednesday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pate’s order does not remove any names from Iowa’s voter registration list.

Pate fielded a number of questions about his directive during Wednesday’s news conference, including why he ordered the challenge of these residents’ citizenship status so close to the election.

Pate described the process of requesting citizenship information from the federal government and being denied, then requesting information from Iowa DOT and cross-checking that with voter registration and voting history in his office.

However, Pate did not explain why he did not start that process earlier in the election cycle.

On Sept. 20, roughly a month before issuing his directive to county auditors, Pate was asked on Iowa PBS’ “Iowa Press” about the potential for noncitizens voting in U.S. elections.

“I don’t believe in Iowa we have any of those types of massive voter fraud. I think the bad boys and girls, those really serious illegals are not looking to be recognized for anything. They're here just kind of to stay under the radar. So I don’t think we see a lot of it at this time in Iowa,” Pate said on “Iowa Press.”

During Wednesday’s news conference, Pate said his office has been watching how other states address potential noncitizen voting and what legal resources his office can use.

“The reason we sent it the counties now is because we feel the public expects us to address the issue,” Pate said Wednesday. “Because we’ve had so much pressure put on the elections process across the country about not only noncitizens, but anything that’s not got full transparency in an election. And this is the closest we could come to providing that transparency at this time.”

Linn County officials checked individuals’ citizenship status

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said the state list included 150 names in Linn County. Miller, speaking to The Gazette on Wednesday, said 28 of those individuals have voted or requested an absentee ballot, and all have been determined to be U.S. citizens by local and federal law enforcement.

“And I expect that number will grow,” Miller said. “We have state and federal laws on the books that say don’t intimidate voters or interfere with their right to vote, and we have a Secretary of State that has provided a flawed, faulty list and is telling us to challenge voters. It seems to me to have created a conundrum in which I really can’t win. I’m wrong no matter which way I go here.”

Miller said Pate should have given his list to state investigators or county sheriffs to verify with federal immigration officers the citizenship status of the suspected noncitizen voters, noting the list goes back years.

“There’s no reason he couldn’t over a period of time have vetted these people prior to us getting this close to an election,” Miller said. “I vetted 28 people in less than a week. He hasn’t vetted one.”

Asked Wednesday how the Linn County Auditor has been able to confirm the citizenship of names on the state list that Pate’s office couldn’t, Pate again referred to what he said was the federal government’s unwillingness to share federal citizenship data.

“We are forced to have to work with the information we have available because the federal government has tied my hands,” Pate said. “So the best measure we could design and come up with was giving the 2,000 names, giving (elections workers) some guidance, explaining to people this does not take them off the voter rolls. These are people that, based on the information we have available to us, we have questions (and) we need to get them answered.”

Miller told The Gazette he forwarded names to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, which then sent them to federal immigration officers. The federal officers then informed the county of the individuals' citizenship. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner confirmed that process to The Gazette.

The Gazette’s Tom Barton contributed to this report.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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Newsweek has released its annual list of the best hospitals in the nation. According to the rankings, the #1 hospital in the state resides here in Cedar Rapids.

The Corridor Business Journal reports that Newsweek/Statista has compiled the list since 2019. Since that time, Unity Point-St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids has made the list seven times. But for the first time, St. Luke's is now ranked the #1 hospital in the state of Iowa.

The CBJ reports that Newsweek compiles its rankings using a combination of metrics provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the American Hospital Association, Annual Survey of Hospital Databases, and patient experience surveys. Newsweek ranked 17 Iowa hospitals. Here are the top five.

According to the CBJ, Unity Point Health-St. Luke's President Casey Greene stated, "The national recognition is a direct reflection on our dedicated team for their commitment to providing safe, quality care to our community."

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