Archives March 2026

WATERLOO, IOWA (Excerpts from KWWL.COM)— A new sporting facility is set to change the landscape for young athletes in Eastern Iowa. Construction is progressing on CourtWorks, a large-scale facility in downtown Waterloo. This project promises to provide eight full-size basketball courts, which can also transform into 16 volleyball courts, accommodating various hard-court sports.

Ashley Johnson, Executive Director of the Cedar Valley Sports Commission, emphasized the potential impact of CourtWorks.

“What CourtWorks will be, is really kind of a more state championship, regional championship, national championship, caliber facility. So it’ll be larger events coming that bring a lot more outside visitors,” Johnson said.

Currently, about 25% of local youth in the Cedar Valley participate in traveling sports. With the new facility, families might no longer need to travel to places like Des Moines, Milwaukee, or Minneapolis for tournaments.

WATERLOO, IOWA – Waterloo’s River Lights Experience is featured in this issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine. The article explores how the dynamic new programmed lighting installation not only highlights the falls and the 4th Street Bridge, it also brings the community together in a shared experience of energy and color.

The bridge and this part of the river had long been seen as a physical and socio-economic barrier between parts of the community. In his lighting ceremony address, Mayor Quentin Hart explained the transformation and its importance to the community this way. “I want it, once and for all, to transform this archaic symbol of division into a modern celebration of unity.”

Vandewalle & Associates and Eye Level Studio helped the City envision the transformation lighting could make to this section of the falls, and worked with Shakespeare Lighting and Rutland-Kuiper Architects to bring it to fruition.