Here in Cedar Rapids, we really love our pets!
Our city, the county seat of Linn County, rests on the bank of the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids is just 20 miles away from Iowa City and 100 miles from Des Moines, the largest city in Iowa.
You won’t run out of exciting things to do in Cedar Rapids. Local entertainment options include the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, Paramount Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, and Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance. You might also have heard that we are the “City of Five Seasons.” Our fifth season is ample time to enjoy the four seasons of the year. Plus, we’ve got the space for enjoyment thanks to 3,360 acres of parks and recreational space.
You’ll also find that Cedar Rapids is a great place to enjoy local events. The Cedar Rapids Tourism website offers an events calendar full of local get-togethers to enjoy. Many of these events are animal-friendly as well.
Cedar Rapids is a hub for Iowa’s economy. We are leaders in corn and grain processing. Several Fortune 500 companies are based here, including Collins Aerospace, CRST, and Aegon. The location is also the site of a Quaker Oats mill. Other top employers in the city include Transamerica, St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids Community School District, and Hy-Vee.
Want to know more about the history of Cedar Rapids? In the earliest days of the region, it was inhabited by Sac and Fox tribes. Settlers arrived in the 1830s and began to set up shop around the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids was formally incorporated in 1849 with a very small population. Railroads were built in the late 1800s, and they helped the region develop. The development of agricultural processing also became prominent in not only the city’s growth but also the development of Iowa as a state.
Several notable figures have made a home in Cedar Rapids. They include artist Grant Wood, journalist William L. Shirer, athlete Ryan Sweeney, athlete Zach Johnson, actor Ashton Kutcher, actor Ron Livingston, actor Elijah Wood, and actor Bobby Driscoll. Clearly, our city has a penchant for creativity.
The population of Cedar Rapids was 132,228 as of the year 2017. The population has grown by nearly 10 percent according to 2000 figures. We love that our city is growing quickly, and we welcome the new animals that will be moving into our city as well.