Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun

06/11/2026

Mount Vernon Middle School parking lot will be closed for repaving beginning early next week. To access district offices, use the horseshoe drive in front of the middle school building. Parking for softball games should go to Washington Elementary or Cornell College student parking lot.

June 9, 2026

Good afternoon,

At the June 8 Regular Board meeting it was approved to contract with Portzen Construction for the update and completion of the parking lot project starting next week. Please be advised that beginning Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the parking lot located between the Middle School and Elementary School will be closed to all vehicle access and travel. We anticipate the project being completed and the parking lot open for use again starting Monday, August 3, 2026.

Individuals needing access to the Middle School or District Office are asked to utilize the horseshoe loop and park in front of the Middle School during this time. You will utilize the Middle School entrance to gain entry to the building. Please see the below map for further information.

In addition, this will cause parking disruptions for home softball games as well (both lower level games and varsity games in the evening). Fans will now be asked to park in the green zones on the attached map. The parking areas are the Cornell maintenance lots on the NORTH side (see map). Please do not enter the south entrance as Cornell maintenance has requested us not to use that area.

Additional parking is also available in front of Washington Elementary as well.

We know this causes temporary disruptions to traffic, parking, and events and we thank you for your patience in the process.

Matthew Leeman
Superintendent

05/04/2026

MVL Sun intern Cadence Dighton's selected best photos from the weekend. We're finishing up the newspaper for this week's edition, so some of these will likely see print in the print edition, but not all. What a great Chalk the Walk festival this year. Looking forward to 2027!

05/03/2026

Photos from Day One of Chalk the Walk from the newspaper. Plenty more art than what is pictured up here and temps are beautiful today. Come out and check out the art!

02/18/2026

We're also under a burn ban at the moment due to high winds and dry conditions.

It’s very dry and very windy. Don’t set anything on fire, if you did, go put it out fully. Linn County has a burn ban in place until further notice.

02/18/2026

** Update: Hwy 1 has reopened.

Hwy 1 Mount Vernon at railroad tracks closed

Gillette Lane is also closed. N. Washington in Lisbon is open. The train has broken down. They estimate at least a few hours before the train will be moved.

01/22/2026

A reminder of the local warming stations as temperatures plunge.

Update: Following a couple questions in the comments, here is a link to the overnight Linn County Winter Weather Shelter shelter.

Here is a list of Warming Centers in Linn County:

• Alburnett City Hall, 120 N Main Ave. [Mon-Fri 9 AM- 2 PM]
• Cedar Rapids Lindale Mall, 4444 1st Ave. NE [Mon–Thurs 11 AM–7 PM, Fri–Sat 10 AM–8 PM, Sun 12 PM–6PM]
• Cedar Rapids Downtown Library, 450 5th Ave. SE. [Mon–Thurs 9 AM–8 PM, Fri–Sat 9 AM–5 PM, Sun 1 PM–5PM]
• Cedar Rapids Ladd Library, 3750 Williams Blvd. SW [Mon–Thurs 9 AM–8 PM, Fri–Sat 9 AM–5 PM, Sun 1 PM–5PM]
• Cedar Rapids Salvation Army, 1000 C Ave. NW [Mon–Fri 8:30 AM–Noon & 1 PM -4 PM]
• Cedar Rapids Willis Dady Works Day Center, 800 1st Ave. NW [Mon, Wed, Fri 9 AM–1 PM]
• Cedar Rapids Cedar Valley Community Support Services, 2515 18th St. SW Suite A [Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM]
• Center Point Community Center, 720 Main St. [Mon, Wed, Thurs 1 PM–8 PM, Tues 8:30 AM–1 PM, Fri 8:30AM–5:30 PM, Sat 10 AM–2 PM]
• Central City, City Hall, 137 4th St. [Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–4 PM]
• Coggon Public Library, 216 E Main St. [Tues 9 AM–6 PM, Wed & Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 9 AM–12 PM
• Ely Community Center/City Hall, 1570 Rowley St. [Mon–Fri 7 AM–3:30 PM]
• Ely Public Library, 1595 Dows St. [Mon–Thurs 9 AM–7 PM, Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 9 AM–4 PM]
• Ely St. John Lutheran Church, 1420 Walker St. [Tues –Fri 8 AM–4 PM]
• Fairfax City Hall, 300 80th St. Court [Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–4 PM]
• Fairfax Public Library, 313 Vanderbilt St. [Mon–Tue 12 PM–7 PM, Wed–Thurs 10 AM–7 PM, Fri 12 PM–6 PM, Sat 9 AM–2 PM]
• Hiawatha City Hall, 101 Emmons St. [Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–4 PM]
• Hiawatha Library, 150 West Willman St. [Mon–Thurs 9 AM–8 PM, Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 10 AM–5 PM]
• Lisbon City Hall, 115 N Washington [Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM]
• Marion City Hall Lobby, 1225 6th Ave. [Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM]
• Marion Lowe Park Arts & Environment Center, 4500 N. 10th St. [Mon–Sat 9 AM–4 PM]
• Marion Thomas Park Safe Room, 343 Marion Blvd. [Mon–Fri 7 AM–4 PM]
• Marion Police Department Lobby, 6315 Highway 151 [Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM] Available 24 hours
• Marion Public Library [Mon - Thurs 9AM - 8PM, Fri - Sat 9AM - 5PM, Sun 1 PM – 5 PM]
• Mount Vernon Mount Vernon City Hall Basement, 213 1st St. NW [Mon–Fri 7 AM–4 PM]
• Mt. Vernon/Lisbon Police Station (secondary use only), 380 Old Lincoln Highway [Mon–Fri 7 AM–4 PM]
• Palo Community Center, 2800 Hollenbeck Road [Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM]
• Robins Community Room, 265 S Second St. [Mon, Wed, Fri 8 AM–4 PM, Tue & Thurs 8 AM–Noon]
• Springville Community Room & Library, 264 Broadway [Mon–Wed 11 AM–6 PM, Thurs 10 AM–6 PM, Fri 11AM–5 PM, Sat 11 AM–3 PM]
• Springville United Methodist Church, 169 Broadway [Mon– 8 AM–1 PM, Tue & Wed 8 AM-11 AM, Thurs 8 AM-1 PM, Sun 8 AM–11 AM]
• Walker Community Room, 204 Green St. [Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM]
• Walker North Pavilion, 398 Park St. [Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM]
• Walford Community Room, 120 5th St. N [Mon-Fri 7 AM-3 PM]

Below is a link to an interactive map that shows what locations are currently open and closed. It also contains Cedar Rapids bus route/stop data:

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/98e8c718da4141b0bacdb3891a71ffb8/

01/14/2026

The Creative Collaboration J-Term Class will be hosting a Zine Fest at the Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center lobby 1-2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16 that the public is invited to attend.

12/19/2025

One of the videos completed by University of Iowa students this semester was on the Lisbon Girls' Wrestling team. The feature this was going to be paired with did not come fully together, but this video was still a lovely piece of work by U of I students we want to share.

A video created by University of Iowa students Sam Kupres and Brendan Schnoebelen for a story on the Lisbon Girls' Wrestling team. The feature story did not ...

12/07/2025

Update - The tow ban has now been lifted for Linn County Sunday, Dec. 7.

Linn County Sheriff's Office has issued a tow ban Saturday, Dec. 6, at 8:39 p.m. effective immediately.

11/28/2025

Snow emergency 10 p.m. starting Friday, Nov. 28 through noon Sunday, Nov. 30.

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