Steve Hershner has served with the City of Cedar Rapids for 25 years and as Utilities Director since March 2013. He has held positions as the Environmental Coordinator at Water Pollution Control, Environmental Manager for Water Pollution Control, Utilities Environmental Manager, and Interim Utilities Director from October 2012 to March 2013.
Hershner is responsible for all Utilities Department Divisions, which include Solid Waste & Recycling, Water, and Water Pollution Control. He also serves as a staff representative for the City on the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency, Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization – Transportation Technical Advisory Committee, and Cedar Lake Study Committee.
Hershner was selected in 2013 to provide his expertise at the Mississippi River Nutrients Dialogue Series organized by the U.S. Water Alliance based on his participation as a member of the point source core team in the development of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. This Mississippi River dialog group is focused on developing working relationships among selected leaders in water/wastewater industries and other key stakeholder communities in an effort to reduce nutrients throughout the Mississippi River Corridor. As a result of the relationships developed during the Nutrients Dialogues Series, Steve and other key Utilities staff worked with 16 different partners on the $4.3M Middle Cedar Partnership Project that was selected for funding through the U. S. Department of Agriculture, NRCS - Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Nutrient reduction is a key environmental issue facing our region.
Hershner is a longtime resident of Cedar Rapids and earned his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University. He has served as president of the Iowa Water Environment Association and is a member of the Linn County Trails Association.
