Coralville Makes Another Adjustment to Hours of Curfew

[UPDATED 6/9 4:19 p.m.] —Effective today, June 9, 2020, the curfew in Coralville will end, by proclamation of Mayor John A. Lundell.

[UPDATED 6/4 3 p.m.] Coralville now says the curfew will be in effect from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. The curfew remains in effect in the city until further notice.

[UPDATED 6/2 11:55 a.m.] The City of Coralville has announced they're revising the time that a curfew will begin. According to a news release from City Administrator Kelly Hayworth, the curfew will now begin at 9 p.m. and be lifted at 6 a.m. Monday night, the curfew started an hour earlier, at 8 p.m.

[ORIGINAL STORY] Peaceful protests regarding the death of George Floyd went on over the weekend in the Cedar Rapids area, but unfortunately, some areas turned more violent. After a rough Sunday night, the city of Coralville issued a press release today (Monday, June 1) stating that a curfew will be in effect for the city starting tonight.

This curfew comes following overnight looting at Coralville businesses. According to The Gazette, about 150 people gathered near Coral Ridge Mall on Sunday night into Monday morning "resulting in clashes with police, vandalism, and looting." The Gazette reports that around 10 p.m. Sunday police got a report of people breaking into Walmart near Coral Ridge Mall. Upon officers arriving at the store they "found broken glass and several people inside with stolen merchandise." That's not all either. Other businesses in the area had windows broken, according to the report. Nine people were arrested that night.

To avoid further conflict, Coralville has issued a curfew to go into effect tonight from 8:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. The release states that "law enforcement agencies will enforce the curfew" and that "pedestrian and vehicle movement, standing, and parking are prohibited during those hours unless traveling to and from work and home, or providing emergency response calls."

The city wants to give its citizens the right to protest peacefully, but also prevent the peacefulness from turning sour. Coralville Mayor John Lundell stated “We at the City of Coralville recognize and support the rights of citizens to demonstrate and protest, and stand with those peacefully doing so in sadness and anger over the death of George Floyd...We also recognize that vandalism and violence are damaging to our community, as they are to other cities across the country. To protect our citizens, businesses, and public safety personnel, we will impose and enforce this curfew until further notice.”

Coralville also issued another press release stating that Coralville Transit's night route will not stop at Coral Ridge Mall after 9:00 p.m. Monday night (June 1) until further notice. Again, if you live in the Coralville area, be prepared to be settled in your homes by the 8:00 p.m. curfew tonight.