Tagged: Burlington

The victims of a boat collision early Saturday morning near Burlington have been identified.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the bodies of Matthew House, 21, Jacob Boyd, 22, Caitlyn Atchley, 20, and Blake Eakins, 21 were found Sunday morning.  They were all from Burlington.

The agency says the collision occurred in the O’Donnell Slough area of the Mississippi River.

Jason Parrott’s guest is Steve Frevert, who is the Executive Director of Downtown Partners, the Chairman of Burlington’s Historic Preservation Commission, and a board member of Historic Trust.

Frevert says organizations from across the country are using the month of May to celebrate and promote historic preservation efforts.  He defines the practice as the recognition of historic assets within a community.

An example is the effort to develop a new historic district in Burlington.

Burlington continues to wait for information in regards to the future of Cascade Bridge, which has been closed to vehicular traffic for several years.

The city was ready to start building a new roughly $4-million bridge months ago.  The project was delayed, though, to allow for a new study to be done to determine if the roughly 120-year-old bridge could be repaired or if replacement is required.

The recommendation for the new study came from the State Historic Preservation Office and was supported by several local preservation groups.

Burlington residents still have plenty of opportunities to weigh in on a new “blue-print” for the city.

Development and Parks Director Eric Tysland says it has been at least 15 years since Burlington updated its comprehensive plan.  He says this type of document is crucial to future planning and development.

“It looks at all aspects of the city,” says Tysland, “from land-use to streets to infrastructure and public services (police & fire).  Basically every aspect of the city is addressed in the plan in one way or another.”

Burlington’s new city manager says he will spend his first few weeks on the job getting to know as many people as possible.

Jim Ferneau comes to town via Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, where he served as city administrator.  He has been involved in city government for about 15 years.

Ferneau says he and his wife grew up in the Marshalltown area.  They have nine children and are in the process of moving to Burlington.

Burlington is exploring the world of hydroelectric power.

The city, its renewable energy committee and Klingner and Associates have been working on a proposal to build a hydroelectric power plant on Lock & Dam 18.  The plan calls for about two-dozen low-head turbines to be constructed.