IOWA CITY

When Mazahir Salih, Mayor Pro Tem of Iowa City and Executive Director of the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County, appeared in front of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors last week, immigrants filled the board room.

Many of them addressed the board at a time when illegal immigrants are being arrested and detained nationally.

Salih, a Sudanese American, is hoping the county can help with the creation of an immigrants welcome center in Johnson County.

“I know right now it takes a lot of courage to even propose the idea,” Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz said. “Truly, targets are on peoples’ backs. The courage that it takes and the vision that it takes to put this together and present and to bring the community to us.”

While the group did not have a specific request for the Board, the discussion, held during a work session June 4, did bring up the possibility of the Immigrants Welcome Network partnering with various social service agencies that already exist in the county.

“Our whole community is struggling,” Supervisor Rod Sullivan said. “The amount of resources that we’re able to put into every possible social service is stretched to about the limit we can. We’re imagining, unfortunately, that in the state of Iowa and the U.S., it’s going to get worse before it gets better. So, we have to be very careful with our resources.”

“The idea of navigation,” Sullivan said, “is really, really important to me because we already have providers that do housing and provide food and that sort of thing. … We need to navigate the system with people that can express what both sides are feeling and use that single resource.”

One day after the discussion, the Board issued a proclamation honoring Domestic Workers Day.

“It was an act of bravery to come forward and have this proclamation,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “The majority of domestic workers are immigrants and right now immigrants are under attack.”

“It is both terrifying and infuriating,” Supervisor Chair Jon Green said. “We will continue to do everything we can to fight for the rights and dignity of all Johnson County residents.”

Maier Ave. Bridge

Peterson Contractors, of Reinbeck, was the low bidder for a bridge replacement on Maier Avenue SW, west of Hills.

The project is likely to happen in spring 2026 although there is a chance, county officials said, that the work could still begin in 2025.

Peterson’s bid was $409,028 and was among seven bidders for a project that was estimated at $425,000.

The bridge will be a timber structure replacing a bridge over Picayune Creek.

Board Action

The Board approved a FY26 Juvenile Justice Pre-charge Diversion Coordination and Implementation contract with United Action for Youth at a cost of $116,175, and a $350,000 funding recommendation for Juvenile Justice Youth Development.

The Board approved renewal contracts with Delta Dental of Iowa, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, and supplemental life insurance plans for county staffers.

The Board issued proclamations in honor of Gun Violence Awareness Day (June 6) and Domestic Workers Day (June 16).