Labor Dept to Ease Affirmative Action Rules for Small Contractors
After 19 years of federal outreach, the Labor Department plans looser affirmative action standards. Thresholds rise to a $100,000 federal contract and 100 employees, excluding many small contractors. five year hiring plan approvals may waive inspections. Critics warn easing hiring rules harms minorities and women, cites Cedar Rapids project delays and widened gaps in city labor markets.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Labor Department
Cedar Rapids
The Great Low Mood Still Not Match for 1930s Sorrow
Economists compare recessions with the 1930s using the discomfort index. The 1933 figure reached 29 percent, driven mainly by unemployment. By 1983 the index stood at 23.8 percent, with unemployment around 10 percent, suggesting today’s distress, while severe, differs from the Great Depression. The piece argues the 1930s remains one of a kind.
Agricultural supremacy proposed to wage peace with USSR
A column argues the Department of Agriculture could advance peace compared with State and Defense. It praises farmers and land grant colleges, notes Morrill and Lincoln founded agricultural colleges, and suggests cooperation with Moscow through food aid and exchange. The piece contrasts Weinberger and Shultz, proposing farmer-led diplomacy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
State
Defense Departments
Department of Agriculture
Land Grant Colleges
Reagan
Chicago
Jonathan Baldwin Turner
Ilinois
Justin S. Morrill
Vermont
Union of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts Colleges
Lincoln
Morrill
Congress
Middle West
Moscow
Yuri Andropov
Departments of State and Defense
Siberia
Secretary of Agriculture
Soviet Union
Central America
Shultz
Frank and Georgia Nye Remembered as Community Pillars
In a year when the city mourned, Frank and Georgia Nye stood as devoted leaders and doers. Georgia served on the Cedar Rapids school board and inspired respectful debate, while Frank, Des Moines–raised, chronicled government with integrity and humor. Their combined legacy shaped neighbors, families, and institutions as they dedicated themselves to service and education. Their passing leaves a quieter community and a hopeful memory of what one pair can accomplish.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frank
Georgia Nye
Des Moines
Iowa
Heaven
Seatbelts urged for school buses and I-380 issues raised
Letters discuss seatbelt promotion and safety concerns for school bus riders, propose punitive measures for misbehavior, and urge opening the unopened 42nd Street interchange of I 380. Contributors address Cedar Rapids transport projects Iowa 100 and criticise planning delays while citing officials by name.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
42Nd Street NE
42Nd Street
Steve Severn
Dick Hogan
Regional Planning Commission
James Russell Lowell
Parade Magazine
Thoughtful eastern Iowans share views in invited column
Periodic observations from Cedar Rapids readers invite opinions on any topic. Harry Sargent, retired from Wilson Foods, is noted as a former president of a public school advisory group and long serving Cedar Rapids Board of Education member.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harry Sargeant
Cedar Rapids
Wilson Foods
Also Mentioned on This Page
Joe Hladky III
Vietnam
Iran
Defense Department
Middle East
State Department
Panama
Japan
West Germany
Commerce Department
Here
United States
New York Times Service
Defense Weinberger
Kennedy Center
James Reston
Nyes
Georgia
Roberts
Frank and
the Gazette
Bob Johnson
Don Canney
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