Legislative forum
The Linn County League of Women Voters will host a nonpartisan legislative forum Saturday, Feb. 17, at Cedar Rapids Public Library Beems A and B, from 10-11:30 a.m. Bring your questions for legislators. All Linn county area legislators are invited to participate in the forum.
Science cafes coming up at Fuel
Two science cafes are coming up at Fuel Coffee Ship in Mount Vernon.
The first in person science café is Thursday, Feb. 22, with the topic being “Becoming a brain detective: An inside look at brain disease with Dr. Kimberly Fiock, who works as a staff scientist at the department of pathology at the University of Iowa.
Fiock earned her bachelor of science degree in neuroscience and psychology in May 2018 from the University of Texas at Dallas. She completed her Master of Science in pathology from the University of Iowa. Her master’s thesis focused on the work in the lab of Dr. Marco Hefti focused on mapping the expression, phosphorylation and splicing pattern of the tau protein in the developing human brain.
Though tau’s role in disease is most well-known in Alzheimer’s (a secondary tauopathy), neurodegeneration caused by tau is the final pathway in multiple diseases, including the primary tauopathies progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). In addition to neurofibrillary tangles, tau aggregates can be found in both astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in PSP and CBD.
Fiock will discuss how the University uses brains for both education and research, as well as a brief introduction on neuropathology, the study of brain diseases. The talk will help provide clarity what it means to donate your body or brain to science and help people feel empowered to make informed choices about their end of life care.
The second in person science café this spring will be led by Dr. Samantha Zulke, on a topic still being determined. That talk is scheduled for April 17 to 5-6 p.m.
Seed exchange
Getting ready to start your spring garden? Lisbon public library will be holding a seed exchange Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Patrons are encouraged to come pick up seeds to help jump start their garden with donations from Nine Square Feet, a non-profit gardening and plant resource from Des Moines.
Lisbon Dance Kids Clinic
Lisbon Dance team’s kids’ clinic and dance showcase is coming up. The Lisbon Dance showcase will be Saturday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in the Lisbon Lion’s Den.
Registration is now being taken for the alternative kindergarten through eighth grader dance clinics that will take place at the Lion’s Den Saturday, March 2. The alternative kindergarten through first graders and the second through third graders will practice in the Lion’s Den from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Fourth and fifth graders and the sixth through eighth graders will practice their routines from 10:15 a.m. to noon.
Registration for the dance clinic is $25, and the cost of the clinic includes learning a dance routine led by members of the Lions Dance Team that will be performed as part of the showcase and a Lisbon Dance Kid’s clinic t-shirt.
Dancers participating in the clinic need to be at the Lion’s Den at 6:45 p.m. ahead of the performances.
Cost of admission for the showcase is $3 for students and $5 for adults.
The proceeds from this clinic and show help fund the Lisbon Dance Team program. If you have questions, please contact coach Amy Geis at 641-373-2602 or [email protected].