Saturday, a group of community members gathered in the Wellington Heights neighborhood in Cedar Rapids to call for an end to violence. It started with a march around the neighborhood and ended in a community party at Redmond Park.  Snaking through the streets, neighbors could hear chants, emerging from their front doors.  "What do we want?" beckoned a leader.  "More love!" they echoed.  "How do we get it?"  "Stop the violence!" they cheered.  Some neighbors left their porches and joined in.

"This event is a statement piece," said Paki Williams, co-organizer of the "Stop the Violence" event. "There's been a lot of gun violence, a lot of violence -- period -- in the neighborhood." Ms.  Williams is referring to the four shots fired incidents that occurred within three days in early April. Cedar Rapids Police Department public safety officer Greg Buelow says that string of incidents is a high concern.

"The police department has taken a number of steps, including the formation of a Police Community Action Team that includes messaging those prone to being involved in criminal activity," said Mr. Buelow in an email. He said they're also having school resource officers work with youth in area high schools to identify and resolve issues before they lead to violent activity.  According to Brandon Jackson, co-organizer of the event along with Ms. Williams, youth are the exact reason they organized the event.  "I feel like the age is getting younger and younger with the violence," said Mr. Jackson, founder of Dream Sports, a local nonprofit youth sports organization. "I wanted to put something out there to let kids know there's something here for you."

Saturday was a day of victory for Cedar Rapids community gardener Ed Thornton.  For years, Mr. Thornton, has been battling with city officials to let him exercise his green thumb to benefit his neighbors.  Saturday, was the first season he was able to till his garden with a permit. Mr.  Thornton started gardening in 2011 on an empty lot on First Avenue SW. Then in 2014, he received a letter saying he was trespassing. Now, he has a lease on the land and held a tilling party to get the garden ready again.  Even Cedar Rapids City Council members showed up to help him till. Coming full circle made Mr. Thornton emotional.  "This--this means a lot," said Mr. Thornton, through tears. "They're the world to me. Sometimes stupid rules shouldn't be followed!"  Friends and neighbors say that Mr. Thornton has always had a heart of gold.  "The whole entire community is welcome," said Kimberli Giesbrecht. "I've sat here many summers in a row before the city came and took this land from him. I've watched single moms walk up with two, three, for children at a time, and they go home with more bags than they showed up with, full of food. That's the whole point of this garden, to make sure that people don't go hungry." Mr.  Thornton says gardening brings him peace and serenity, and to him, it is almost like a religion.