Rob Green - Cedar Falls Mayor Emeritus

06/01/2026

A +17 on my first try at disc golf!

My son Ethan will be a high school senior this year, and I'm so glad that Cedar Falls has had so many free and inexpensive ways & places to build SO many great father/son memories without leaving town!

Ethan recently asked me if we could play disc golf together this upcoming year, so now we are disc golfers! Jake at Accretion Discs was super helpful in setting us up with our first discs.

A big motivation to leave elected service was to maximize this irreplaceable time with my kids. I'm thankful that our city's great amenities make it easy! 😃

05/29/2026

🔥🌪️⚡️Are you part of a Cedar Valley organization that might provide direct support to residents after a disaster?

Register to join me at this FREE Red Cross workshop on Tuesday, June 2nd in Waterloo (Westminster Presbyterian Church on Kimball Ave), from 10:15 to 12:15 (box lunches provided).

The group I chair, Black Hawk County COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster), will be attending to learn how we can adopt a 'one-stop shop' in a single location after a disaster, to walk residents through the process to get the services they need. We're looking to adopt the Red Cross's MARC (Multi-Agency Resource Center) approach, and hope your organization will join us to learn how it works!

Register early via this online form, so we know how many box lunches to order. Attendence doesn't commit you to anything, it's just a time for learning! If you serve the public after a disaster, please join us for this important training event!

05/15/2026

Happy Bike to Work Day! That's everyday for me...as mayor and now at UNI again, I love being a daily bike commuter and consider it a huge perk of living in Cedar Falls. As mayor, I ensured we carried out our "Complete Streets" policy so that our amazing city was accessible to all modes of ground transportation -- cars, bikes, personal mobility devices (like eScooters and OneWheels) and, most importantly, your own two feet!

Bicycling allows me to put less wear & tear on our minivan, saves on gas costs, and, just as importantly, is a mental health boost. I love waving to neighbors & first responders (they wave back) and feeling more connected to the community than I would just from the seat of my car. It's a great feeling, and worth trying out!

I'm also very happy to see and use the new bike lanes on Main Street, and hope we'll someday have the same on Waterloo Road from 12th to University. While automobiles will always serve their function, A community less dependent on cars is a more resilient & enjoyable community overall!

Thanks to the visionary mayors, city councilors, staff, public committee members (especially the Bike & Ped Advisory Commission) and residents who've gotten us to this point, and who make my daily bike commute so effortless. I don't take it for granted!

04/22/2026

Happy Administrative Professionals Day to some truly rock star past & present Admins in Cedar Falls, Iowa, City Government! Jacque, Kim, Joanne, Amy, Courtney, Marcie, Lisa, and the rest of the City Hall Front Office crew especially! 💐

04/14/2026

If you're following the cryptocurrency mining facility discussion, it's important to go into it well-informed. It's easy to fall back on emotion and old or faulty information, but a good decision for the community takes time, effort, and critical thinking.

The item first came before the Planning & Zoning commission as a proposed change to the city's Zoning Ordinance, to regulate cryptocurrency mining facilities. It would need to pass the P&Z Commission first, and this hearing is scheduled for April 22nd. City Council would then have the ordinance on the agenda in three separate readings (meetings). If the vote fails (with fewer than four 'aye' votes), then the process would stop (though it could possibly be brought up later in a revised form).

I'm attaching the March 25th meeting where the new ordinance was discussed. It's 1.5 hours long, so it's a bit of a time investment if you want to be part of an informed community debate, pro/con.

For what it's worth, I've heard this has been developing since 2023, but I'm assuming that was just on CFU's side and possibly in early planner discussions. Cryptocurrency Mining was never brought up in Executive Management Team meetings during my last year in office.

Also, while in office I saw that my most important role was protecting the process -- ensuring that our city deliberations were fair, transparent, and open to all residents to participate. I've heard about this issue that "this is a done deal", but at the end of the day it's up to seven council members (with a possible mayoral veto) to decide. I can say from experience -- on lots of city issues -- that your voice matters, and that city council members DO take public sentiment to heart. I personally found the most effective approach was when residents provided a well-reasoned letter or email to the council members and me, and read a 2-3 minute cliff notes version of it as a speech at the council meeting. There's no rule against getting the same message across twice! Just be sure that your communication doesn't include misinformation, which is the surest way to have it discounted by the readers you're trying to influence!

I'm happy to answer questions about council procedure, since I was so close to that for six years. And also can link to resources and other materials that can be helpful in gaining perspective on how local government works these kinds of policy issues out.

Cedar Falls Planning & Zoning Commission: March 25, 2026Cedar Falls City HallProduced by: Cedar Falls Community Television

02/28/2026

My 50th Birthmonth has been a great time to send cards to some of the wonderful souls who've had a big positive impact on my life, this first half-century. It's been a great exercise; I recommend it! ✉️

Thank you for following my civic service on this page. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity that Cedar Falls voters gave me for six years of elected service. I've been passionate about civics and good citizenship since my teenage years, and I was able to complete an important civic duty as a City Councilor and Mayor. I gained a lot of valuable insights into the human condition, and I gained the confidence that I DO have a brain wired for challenging legislative and executive work!

I've been staying out of local politics, but I always enjoy being invited to civic events like city inaugurations and ceremonies & connecting with our current leaders. My focus now is my family, my UNI Web Developer job, the men's small group I lead at Trinity Bible Church, and being commander of our area Civil Air Patrol squadron (you can see my squadron members and me at the Iowa America 250 kickoff with the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State). I believe these activities are the best ways I can serve God, country, community, and family for now.

Jocelyn and I will be empty nesters in a few years; I know we'll be thankful we focused these last high school years on family time. I still have tons of civic ideas and energy, and would love to serve again in the Mayor's Office if there's an opportunity down the road.

As it is, I'm happy and content and grateful for all the incredible opportunities I've been blessed with. Thanks especially to those who were on opposite sides of various political positions, and used reason and logic to help me work through and re-evaluate my own thinking. That gave me an important opportunity to empathize and learn and grow as a person and elected leader..."implementing the will of the majority while preserving the rights of the minority".

It's been a fascinating first half century and I'm looking forward to the next half! Best wishes to you all!

01/27/2026

At the start of my four years of mayor service, I facilitated the development of a public safety five-year strategic plan. It was a key campaign item for me. In drafting some of the objectives and strategies, I was able to articulate my own vision for community policing, and I was gratified to see that the department leadership agreed completely.

One of our adopted strategies was to purposely minimize tactical gear to the minimum necessary, and to ensure that our police uniforms were professional and protective without looking overtly "combat ready". No facemasks and no helmets, except for SWAT units when necessary. And we wouldn't show off the 'heavy equipment' like assault rifles at normal public open houses in order to bolster the department's positive community policing tone and approachability to citizens. We wanted our officers to be "guardians" and not "warriors" -- problem-solvers, not combatants.

I'm very proud of the work and conversations that led to that strategic plan...and of the departmental leadership that today is working hard to maintain the public trust and ensure safety and security through problem-solving and thoughtful, data-informed policing. I enjoy seeing our officers when I'm out and about -- especially the ones I had the honor of administering oaths to! I'm just thankful to know that our community is in good hands.

01/02/2026

Today I was honored to attend the Cedar Falls Inauguration Ceremony for Mayor Laudick and City Councilors Kelly Dunn (At Large), Gil Schultz (Ward 1), Tom Nagel (Ward 3) and Craig Fairbanks (Ward 5).

I told Mayor Laudick how much I've appreciated his leadership of the city government, and I'm glad to see that many of the reforms and improvements I put in place have stuck -- including the Inauguration Ceremony, the municipal index, and goal setting session setup. I made these changes to give the city a little more organization, transparency and a sense of tradition & ceremony, and I really enjoy seeing them in action.

Emeritus councilor and mayor-pro-tem Paul Rider joined me in the former elected official seats, and I hope that in the years ahead many more priors will join us for this 'homecoming' event. They all played an important role in getting the city where it is today, and deserve the recognition and continued relationships & conversations that come with an Inauguration Ceremony. I loved the chance to reconnect and to see what's happening in City Hall and the mayor's office.

Thanks to Mayor Laudick and City Clerk Kim Kerr for putting on a very classy event, and to all who attended this important civic ceremony!

12/08/2025

Sitting in on a few minutes of Day #2 of the annual Council Goal Setting Session....these are two of the most important days of the Council Year, as priorities and plans get initially hashed out informally. The council will vote on the document early next year, and Staff will work on those priorities.

It's a terrific system that's a model for the state, and I enjoyed being a part of it & having the opportunity to tweak the format during my mayor time. The community can be proud of this council, mayor, and staff dialogue!