Abstract

The Cedar Rapids-Marion League of Women Voters (LWV) played an active part in the civic life of the greater Cedar Rapids area. During the period covered by this collection, the Cedar Rapids-Marion League of Women Voters focused on the problems of high school dropouts in the Cedar Rapids school system and the lack of affordable housing in the area.

Scope and Contents The League of Women Voters of Sioux City records date from 1978 to 1993 and measure 2.5 linear inches. The bulk of the collection consists of newspaper clippings from the Sioux City Journal and the Des Moines Register chronicling local debates in the late 1970s about Sioux City's urban renewal and city government structure. Clippings on how other Iowa cities were handling these issues in their communities are included. The home rule charter folder includes the proposal submitted by the Sioux City Charter Commission to the mayor and city council, which called for re-structuring the city's government; among other things, the new charter would have given more power to the mayor. The proposed charter was hotly debated for several months and defeated in a narrow vote; the League opposed the charter. The urban renewal newspaper clippings describe conflicts over how to maintain a vital business sector, and an investigation into charges that a developer had misused...