Linn-Mar Students Make Their Mark with Coopers Creek

What started as a science class project has turned into a historical naming event for the local Marion community! On October 10, 2024, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially approved a Linn-Mar student-led proposal to name a previously unnamed stream in Linn County as “Coopers Creek.”

This journey began in 2023 as a project in the Linn-Mar Venture Academics Earth Sciences class. The class of freshman students came across a local stream that, until now, had never been formally named. The students reached out to 150 local residents who live along the creek, explored the geological elements of the creek, and performed historical research about the area to learn more about this particular creek. The next semester’s Earth Science students picked up where their peers left off, and in April, 2024 the students asked for the Marion City Council’s support to officially name the creek. 

Based on their research, Linn-Mar students proposed “Coopers Creek” as a name for this tributary that connects to Dry Creek near Boyson Road. This name commemorates the Cooper family, who came to Linn County in 1845 and were some of the earliest residents of the area around the creek. The students’ research showed that the Coopers, and multiple generations of their descendants, lived in and around Marion and were well-respected members of the community.

Linn-Mar student Lauren Hilzendager helped present an overview of the project and the proposed name to the Marion City Council. “We wanted a name that had meaning for our area,” she said. The students believed that naming the creek is one way to honor the Cooper family, and also helps to ensure that it’s easy to reference this specific tributary when considering environmental preservation efforts. Student Noah Bormann, who also worked on the project, shared, “The sedimentary rock in this creek is great for animals and plants, but it’s started eroding due to some runoff chemicals we found when we tested the water in our class. Naming the creek is one way to literally get it on the map and make sure it’s acknowledged.” Linn-Mar student Sophia Hanlin commented, “That was an exciting part of this project. It wasn’t just a class science project. Our project will benefit the entire community.”

Noah added, “My dad and I went on a bike ride and he didn’t believe me when I pointed to the creek and told him that I helped name it in my freshman science class. I can’t wait to see the signs posted so people can recognize this creek and this project.”

“It’s incredible what these students did over the course of seven months,” commented Linn-Mar Venture Earth Science Teacher Charlotte McDermott.  “Most of the work occurred in three months and the students worked their tails off during those months.  I’m proud of the work they put in and what they accomplished.”

The students have cleared the final hurdle in seeing this project come to fruition. Following approvals from the Marion and Cedar Rapids City Councils and the Linn County Conservation Board, the students received final approval from the United States Geological Survey. Using funding from a grant from the McClure Foundation, the City of Marion will erect signs in three locations along Cooper’s Creek in 2025.

Congratulations to all of the Linn-Mar students who worked on this project:

Aaron Lutheran, Americus Powers, Anna Sefcik, Ava Parsons, Bella Hoskins, Ben Hartley, Blaine Sperry, Charm Burns, Claire Muszynski, Cooper Frank, Devin DeLoach, Devin Infanger, Emerson McCormick, Emily Walser, Emily Zheng, Henry Hopp, Jackson Stolba, Jay High, Jaylee DuBois, Joseph Pfab, Kaden Backen, Kaden Benore, Katie Decker, Kaya Kelly, Kenley Unruh, Kennedy Olson, Kennedy Vancura, Kenny Schmitz, Kimberly Forbes, Kyle Boley, Lameesha Pickett, Landon Erbes, Lauren Hilzendager, Lauren White, Lauren Wittkowski, Levi Adams, Lexie Buresh, Liana Thye, Logan Slater, Logan Pham, Madeline Drinkwater, Marissa Miner, Memphis McNamara, Nicholas Budzinski, Noah Black, Noah Bormann, Robert Potts, Sam Lampe, Scarlett Wagner, Shyla Holt, Sophia Hanlin, Trent Braumann, Tyler Phetkhosa, Valerie Humston, Will Kennedy, Willow Frangul, and Zaden Reed