Rob Cline

2 days ago | thegazette.com | Rob Cline

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. Our research for this column often involves following a storyline through the archives of The Gazette and other area newspapers. These resources are available for anyone in the community to use via the community archive found at cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com.

1 month ago | thegazette.com | Rob Cline

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. Plenty of places in Linn County are named for people who have been important to the community over time. Bever Park, Ellis Park and Greene Square are all examples. Grant Wood, Erskine and Viola Gibson elementary schools in Cedar Rapids also reflect this impulse to honor folks by naming something substantial after them. We suspect you could name many more.

1 month ago | iowasource.com | Rob Cline

When Bryan, our oldest child, who turns 28 this month, was in kindergarten, he came home one day with a flyer in his backpack. The flyer invited kids to try bowling at one of the local alleys. The fee was $4 a week and there was no upfront cost. We decided to give it a go. Little did we know that we would be spending nearly every Saturday morning for the next 17 or so years (our younger two kids took up the sport, too) in a bowling alley. Bryan took to the sport immediately.

2 months ago | thegazette.com | Rob Cline

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. Walk through any of Linn County’s cemeteries and you will be surrounded by our community’s history. Of course, the details of that history are not readily apparent from tombstones, grave markers, and the like. Fortunately, The History Center’s “Linn County Unburied” program provides a wealth of information and context about those who are enjoying their final rest in the area.

2 months ago | iowasource.com | Rob Cline

Fairly often, I am tempted to reread a book. Most of the time, I resist the urge. There are some notable exceptions. I have, for example, returned to Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series—a trilogy in five parts, as the marketing sometimes reads—any number of times. As regular readers of this column know, I am currently engaged in a reread of Ed McBain’s masterful 87th Precinct series. I’ve revisited a variety of other books now and again, but it isn’t my usual practice.