Richard Pratt's stories

QTS data center construction project

QTS planning temporary power plant for Cedar Rapids data center

QTS is planning to bring a temporary power plant online soon to support testing operations at the company’s Cedar Rapids data center campus, company officials have confirmed. The plant, consisting of “modular, self-contained generator units,” will be placed on QTS-owned…

Kelly Dybvig: Guiding others through the path of change

Through all the twists and turns of her career, Kelly Dybvig has relied on a…

Kelly Dybvig

Iowa City zoning amendments would allow conversion of former hotelVetro and Hotel Chauncey to residential uses

A pair of text amendments to Iowa City’s central business zoning code could pave the…

hotelVetro, 201 S. Linn St. Iowa City, pictured Feb. 10, 2026. The hotel closed in November after the building it was housed in reverted to the bank in a foreclosure suit. CREDIT ANNIE SMITH BARKALOW

Cedar Rapids council advances development agreement for former Transamerica site

A development agreement for a portion of the long-vacant former Transamerica site in northeast Cedar…

Edgewood Pointe former Transamerica site redevelopment plan

Palo town hall on proposed Google data center draws pointed questions

A town hall-style meeting in Palo Tuesday night, March 24, intended as an open discussion…

Palo Mayor Bryan Busch Google town hall meeting

Informational meeting on proposed Alliant gas-fired power plant draws heated reactions

The crowd that packed into a meeting room at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center Monday…

Alliant Energy gas-fired plant informational meeting crowd

Linn County gas-fired power plant ordinance gets final approval

As several residents continued to voice concerns, the Linn County Board of Supervisors voted Monday…

Marshalltown natural gas power plant

Partial government shutdown ‘shameful,’ Eastern Iowa Airport director says

Eastern Iowa Airport director Marty Lenss didn’t mince words Monday morning as he addressed the…

Marty Lenss Eastern Iowa Airport

Ron Corbett’s four decades of Cedar Rapids leadership

Ron Corbett has spent virtually his entire career in the Cedar Rapids public eye. Just…

Ron Corbett shows off a few mementos collected over his eight years as mayor of Cedar Rapids. CBJ FILE PHOTO

Linn County gas-fired power plant ordinance amended again for more setback ‘flexibility’

The oft-amended Linn County ordinance governing the development of gas-fired power plants in the county’s…

Linn County board of supervisors 2025

Eastern Iowa Airport conducting donation drive for TSA employees amid government shutdown

The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids has launched a public donation drive to support…

Eastern Iowa Airport TSA donation drive

Sledgehammer event kicks off Horizons ‘Our Place’ senior center construction

The concussive thuds of sledgehammers reverberated through Horizons – A Family Service Alliance Friday, March…

Horizons Our Place senior center sledgehammer groundbreaking

Cedar Rapids council adopts redevelopment plan for First Avenue East

The Cedar Rapids City Council voted this week to adopt a First Avenue East Corridor…

First Avenue East redevelopment plan rendering

Linn County gas-fired power plant ordinance amended again

A new Linn County zoning ordinance amendment governing the siting of gas-fired electrical power plants…

Marshalltown natural gas power plant

Linn County gas-fired power plant ordinance amended for setback ‘flexibility’

The first reading of a new zoning ordinance amendment governing the siting of natural gas-fired…

Marshalltown natural gas power plant

Downtown Association leader: Retail development is a ‘numbers game’

Whatever the retail aspirations for a downtown area may be, one theme is clear: Retail…

Downtown Cedar Rapids