CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A firefighter was hurt fighting a fire at what was supposed to be an empty factory building Friday morning. KCRG reports the Cedar Rapids Fire Department says it responded to the former Diamond V plant in the 500 block of G Ave NW in Cedar Rapids before 7 a.m. Friday. The plant has been vacant for several years but the department says firefighters saw people evacuating as they arrived and were told people were inside. That prompted firefighters to enter the building to search for people who may have been trapped.

During the course of that search, a firefighter fell about 30 feet. The firefighter was taken to the hospital with serious injuries but is expected to survive. Ultimately, no one was found inside the former factory. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Diamond V vacated the plant in 2020 shortly after Cargill bought out the Cedar Rapids company that makes additives for animal feed. Property records show the Cedar Rapids Development Group bought the property last year. That’s the group leading efforts to build a casino in Cedar Rapids, slated to be located just a few blocks away.

CRFD says homeless people have been known to stay inside the former factory. The city of Cedar Rapids formerly “placarded” the building on June 26th, declaring it uninhabitable and making it illegal for anyone to be inside the building.

(Creston, Iowa) -Officials with SIRWA (The Southern Iowa Rural Water Association) based in Creston, are advising certain customers of their service in parts of Union and Madison County, to use bottled water for drinking, or boil your water if you intend to drink it from the tap, until at least Wednesday, due to issues SIRWA experienced Thursday evening with their distribution system north of the Afton, Lorimor, Thayer and surrounding areas. A water main broke, draining all the water out of a tower just north of Afton in Union County.

Officials say “If your account number starts with numbers 55, 03, 63 or 64 you are included in this notice.”

As a precaution, SIRWA has issued a Drinking Water Advisory at this time. The Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) Water Supply is recommending users boil the water before using for drinking. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.

Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. The water may be used for bathing and other similar purposes.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa kids on summer break may be spending less time playing outdoors and more time in front of screens, and studies find it could be hindering their social and emotional development. Jeff Reiland, a child and family therapist with Gundersen Health System, says “less is better” when it comes to screen-time, though T-Vs, tablets and cell phones are getting a lot harder to avoid.

“Back in the 1960s, the average household had one screen. It was usually a black-and-white and maybe if they were lucky, a color TV,” Reiland says. “In 2015, the average household had seven or eight screens, and a 2024 survey showed the average household has 17 screens, over twice as many as it had even 10 years ago.” Studies find kids are watching screens on average for three hours a day by three years of age, while for teens, it may be eight hours or more of screen-time every day.

“People are spending less time together interacting with each other and more time plugged in to those other things,” Reiland says, “which may make them quieter, may make them maybe better behaved, but it doesn’t necessarily help them develop social and emotional skills.” He says the latest study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says there’s a clear correlation between a child’s screen-time and their language development.

Jeff Reiland (Gundersen photo)

“When children develop language, they’re able to problem-solve better. They’re able to turn, take and share better,” Reiland says. “We see a direct relationship between children being able to use their words — instead of their fists — when they’re angry, so we see a sharp drop in aggression between the ages of three and five as they acquire that language.” Reiland says the results of the study are a bit depressing because it’s well known that screen-time has a negative impact on many areas of a child’s life and development, yet the numbers continue to climb.

“A study shows that when kids watched that much screen-time, they’re actually missing out on opportunities for conversation,” Reiland says. “This study actually was able to measure and estimate that when children are plugged into screens, they’re missing up to 1,000-plus words that they’re hearing from adults, they’re uttering 800 fewer words.” The study also found kids are missing out on up to 100 interactions with adults, conversations that can help cement relationships between parents and kids. Delays in language development translate to a child not being able to manage their emotions well, causing ripple effects in their ability to solve problems.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County (IA) Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Atlantic was arrested late last month on a warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. 34-year-old Devin Register was  taken into custody June 21st, for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Register was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

And, on June 28th, 2024, Sheriff’s Deputies in Cass County arrested 33-year-old Cole Benton, of Hamlin, on the charge of Driving while Barred.  Benton was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in their latest Beach Monitor, say swimming is not recommended at multiple sites in Iowa. In western Iowa, swimming is not recommended at the following lakes:

• Blue Lake Beach at the Lewis and Clark State Park (Monona County)  – due to high E. Coli levels.
• Black Hawk State Park/Black Hawk Beach (Sac County) – high e.coli levels.
• Prairie Rose State Park beach (Shelby County) – high e. coli levels
• Lake Manawa State Park beach (Pottawattamie County) – high e.coli levels.
• Lake of Three Fires State Park (Taylor County) – high e.coli results.

No sampling was done in the Okoboji area lakes due to flooding.

(Radio Iowa) – All of the buildings at the Sioux City Railroad Museum were flooded when the Big Sioux River went over a levee in the city’s Riverside neighborhood. That includes the Holocaust Rails exhibit which debuted in April of 2023 with photos and items from the Holocaust of World War Two. One of the exhibits designers, Lou Ann Linblade, says they tried to take steps to protect it. “We went out on Sunday ahead of the flooding to try to raise as much stuff up as we could and we really believe that we were taking things out of harm’s way raising them three feet off the ground. As it turned out that wasn’t enough,” Linblade says. She says their work did help minimize some of the damage.

“We really didn’t lose any irreplaceable artifacts from the era, we were able to take all of the small items that were in display cases and remove those,” She says. “There’s some certainly some damage, and as things dry out, there might be more damage evident, but at this time it looks like things will be able to be put back together quite similarly.” Linblade says the flooding has been tough on those who spent so much time getting the exhibit ready.

Flooded exhibit at the Sioux City Railroad Museum. (KSCJ photo)

“The heart wrenching feeling of seeing that railroad yard covered in water on Sunday evening. And knowing that there was water running through the Roundhouse was just heartbreaking,” She says. “It just flooded back all the memories of putting it together in the blood sweat and tears over the last two years of getting it to the place where we were very happy with it.” Linblade says they are determined to restore the exhibit and anyone can donate to help.

“They can go to toleranceweek.org, and there’s a Donate button at the top of the page. They can mail a donation in care of myself at Sioux City gifts 91922 Pierce Street, they can call with a credit card and all of the money from donations that we receive and in the near future we’ll go completely towards the restoration of the exhibit,” she says. The Railroad Museum will be closed for now as they work to clean up and repair the flood damage.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors have passed a resolution establishing a County Compensation Board. The Compensation Board will consist of seven members – all residents of Shelby County – including two members appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and one member each appointed by the County Auditor, Attorney, Recorder, Treasurer, and Sheriff.

The Sheriff, Auditor, and Supervisors’ representatives will serve an initial term of four years, while the Treasurer, Recorder, and County Attorney’s representatives will serve an initial term of two years.

Members of the Compensation board cannot hold positions such as state officers or employees of any political subdivision, and they will serve staggered terms, the duration of which were initially determined by drawing lots.

Elected officials in Shelby County are required to submit their respective appointments to the Board of Supervisors by August 1st, 2024. The resolution is retroactively to July 1st, 2024.

(Valentine, NE) – Multiple media outlets report a man from Arkansas was arrested Wednesday in connection with a fatal, hit-and-run bicycling event that left a Pottawattamie County (IA) man dead. 35-year-old Adam Earl Joe Cooper, of Arkansas, is charged with felony motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of accident, in the death of 82-year-old Larry Lynn Covalciuc, from Council Bluffs.

Authorities say Covalciuc was participating in the June 25-30 Tour de Nebraska 350-mile bike ride across Nebraska. His body was found laying on the north shoulder of Highway 20, west of Valentine, NE, the morning of June 29th.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports two people were arrested on separate charges Thursday morning. At around 12:20-a.m., 22-year-old Cole Thomas Brown, of Villisca, was arrested at 408 S. Sumner Avenue, on a charge of Driving While Suspended. Brown was cited and released on a promise to appear in court.

And, at around 3:30-a.m. Thursday, 32-year-old Kati Lin Peterson, of Creston, was arrested at 302 N. Pine Street, on a charge of OWI/1st offense. Peterson was taken to the Union County Jail and posted a $1,000 bond before being released.