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SOLON– A national retail chain has its eye on a Highway 1 industrial lot.
A concept plan for a 10,640 square-foot Dollar General was introduced to Solon City Council members during a Feb. 17 meeting.
Council members and Mayor Steve Stange raised concerns over a requested variance for parking stalls, and asked for the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to comment.

IOWA CITY– The GuideLink Center, also known as the Access Center of Johnson County, started accepting patients with an acute mental health or substance abuse crisis on Monday, Feb. 15, as part of a gradual “soft opening.”
The facility, located at 300 Southgate Ave. in Iowa City, has been a goal through roughly a decade of discussion in Johnson County. Momentum was gained in 2015 when then Jail Alternatives Coordinator Jessica Peckover started a crusade for a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) made up of law enforcement officers, starting with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO).

SOLON– They want Solon to stay Solon.
Locals shared their fears a proposed 130-acre residential subdivision would grow the town too quickly during a special city council meeting Feb. 10 dedicated to Trail Ridge Estates.
Jeff Geistkemper summed up the concerns of several Solon-area speakers.
His property on Solon’s west side would be annexed along with the development.
“We knew the day was coming when we may become annexed,” he said during the virtual meeting. “I just think this is too aggressive.”

SOLON– When he was 2-years-old, Carl Richey’s mother took him to a production of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man.”
His family was living in Florida at the time, and while Carl doesn’t remember it, the story is he sat through the whole thing, turned to his mom and asked, “Is there any more?”
“I think we knew then I would be involved in music,” he said.
Richey, 21, had the benefit of being exposed to theatre at a young age, and when his family moved to Solon in 2014, the relocated freshman took advantage of everything his new high school had to offer musically.

TIFFIN– In 1954, the Tiffin Fire Association was formed with the mission of protecting life and property in the city of Tiffin as well as Clear Creek and Union townships; an area of 58 square miles. Over the years the mission has expanded to provide emergency medical services (EMS) as well as fire protection. The all-volunteer force has provided fire protection, disaster response, hazardous materials response, and EMS to the city on a contracted basis.
However, discussions have begun about potentially restructuring the association to a city-operated department.