This makes it sounds like these salaries are the norm for state employees. There are a lot more $30,000 employees than the people at the top. With pay cuts and layoffs for these people, talk about a hard world . . . .

My heart goes out to the solders and their families. My son was in the military for eight years and deployments are hard on everyone. Thank you - we appreciate your sacrifice!

I was very impressed with the way Brian Fagan handled himself during and after the flood. I felt he was the only one that made himself available to keep us notified of what was happening and answer the "hard" questions. That being said he has also talked about the possibility of raising taxes. I would gladly vote for him but he needs to know the people of Cedar Rapids cannot afford any more taxes. I own a small, modest home and my property taxes are ridiculously high. Any more and I won't be able to afford living there anymore. There has to be another answer.

I have lived at that intersection for 30+ years, and although I wasn't home at the time, I can tell you it's because somebody didn't stop at the stop sign on Blake. Add to that people driving 40-45 mph on 19th Street and the result is inevitable. I would like to see traffic slow down AND cars come to a complete stop at the stop sign. It would be a lot safer for everyone.