Mayor, Nicolas AbouAssaly, discusses challenges and triumphs with Marion families

Marion — Mayor, Nicolas AbouAssaly, shared details about some of the challenges and triumphs that were seen in Marion during the State of the City Address on Tuesday afternoon.

People showed up for the presentation at the Radisson Hotel Cedar Rapids. The speech was called "Setting the Standard", he spoke about some of the things that were seen during 2023, such as:

• Community engagement
• Quality of life
• Growth & development
• Effective government
• Community collaboration

Right now, Marion is home to about 43,000 and is one of the fastest growing cities in the state. That population doubled -- from 20,000 -- since 1990.

AbouAssaly also announced several projects that are planned this year for Marion. Those projects include:

Iowa's News Now spoke with AbouAssaly on Tuesday to talk about the state of the city.

"We've made tremendous progress in the last decade or so," said AbouAssaly. "We have a great story to tell. We have an entire community working together to make great things happen, and that is such an unstoppable force."

Those projects include Tower Terrace Road, The Central Plaza, and the Alburnett Road Relocation Project. That project will help link the northwest side of town with the 7th Avenue corridor.

You can read more about the City of Marion and their programming by clicking here.