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IOWA CITY– They’ve had their say. The Johnson County Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) reviewed the final draft of a proposed comprehensive plan for the county during a Thursday, April 5, work session. The five-member commission requested several changes, which were dutifully noted by Planning, Development and Sustainability (PDS) staff. P&Z gave the plan one final review, with its changes in place, during a regular meeting on Monday, April 9, and approved the plan on a 5-0 vote, sending it to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for adoption.

Background

NORTH LIBERTY– It was a calm and sunny Saturday morning as just over a half-dozen students began their weekend with a yoga session. Counseled by words of mindfulness, the intimate class was led in a series of stretches and poses, de-stressing from the work week over a subtle backdrop of ambient music, tucked away in a dimly lit sanctuary north of Cherry Street.
Wellfinity opened its doors to North Liberty on Feb. 1. A culmination of many years of experience, it focuses primarily on yoga, wellness coaching and an alternative medicine known as reiki.

SOLON– The Spartans opened the season with a bang.
The Solon varsity boys soccer team racked up 24 goals in three matches while hosting the Spartan Classic Soccer Tournament Saturday, March 31, in Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans went 3-0 for the day, opening with a 9-0 drubbing of Monticello before rolling over Bellevue Marquette Catholic, 10-0. Solon ended the afternoon with a 5-0 win over Mediapolis. Solon’s defense stifled the three teams in the shut-outs, with senior keeper Eric Weetman collecting two saves against Monticello in his only opportunities for the day.

SOLON– The cost and method of collecting garbage and recycling in Solon will be changing later this year.
At a March 7 meeting of the Solon City Council, Johnson County Refuse owner Steve Smith outlined his plans to convert from manual pickup to an automated system for curbside service beginning July 1.
According to Mayor Steve Stange, city officials were aware of the pending change, which would increase the minimum monthly charge for garbage and recycling to $12.50 per month.
Currently, residential households pay $6.35 monthly for recycling, and $1.25 per garbage tag.

NORTH LIBERTY– With a growing population comes growing demands. And amidst the perpetual expansion of North Liberty, it’s easy to overlook a less fortunate segment of the community that could use a hand.
“We just had a really busy year,” said Executive Director of the North Liberty Community Pantry Kaila Rome. “It was an overall increase in every capacity, and we’re not seeing a sign of that stopping.”