(Radio Iowa) – The wife of a Des Moines firefighter who died of cancer is urging legislators to change Iowa law. Emily Broderick’s 51-year-old husband Mike Broderick died of liver cancer in mid-January. “Unfortunately we learned through his diagnosis that only 14 cancers are covered right now for disability for the firefighters. You should say the word ‘cancer’ and it should be covered,” Broderick said. “They’re selfless servants. They run into the most dangerous of situations and how can we not give back to them?”

A memorial service for Mike Broderick was held late Thursday morning in West Des Moines. Afterwards, his wife and many of his fellow firefighters made their way to the Iowa Capitol to attend the House State Government Committee meeting. The panel unanimously passed a bill to make firefighters as well as police officers in Iowa’s municipal retirement system eligible for accidental disability and death benefits if they’re diagnosed with any form of cancer. Emily Broderick says the sooner this bill becomes law, the better.

“I do know the statistics. You’re 14 times more likely to get cancer as a firefighter,” she said. “They’re exposed to all these toxins. Their PPE has carcinogens in it.” Joe Van Haalen is president of Des Moines firefighters’ union. He says their gear contains PFAS — the so-called “forever chemicals” — to make it water repellent, plus they are being exposed to many other cancer-causing chemicals as they fight fires.  “Construction materials, the things that are inside of our houses,” Van Haalen says. “The things we encounter in house fires are just getting more and more dangerous.”

After the bill passed the House committee, firefighters lingered in Capitol hallways for handshakes and more conversions about Mike Broderick. Broderick met his wife Emily in high school in Cherokee, Iowa. He served 20 years in the U-S Army and joined the Des Moines Fire Department in 2007.

(Radio Iowa) – The Siouxland Freedom Park has opened a temporary exhibit to honor local military hero Bud Day. Brigadier General Day received the Congressional Medal of Honor after surviving years of torture in a prison camp during the Vietnam War. Freedom Park board member Marty Hogan says the exhibit honors the hero and his wife Doris as Day’s 99th birthday approaches February 24th.

“We have a lot of really good pictures, several with him and his family before he went to Vietnam and then there’s some after Vietnam. We have some little items that Doris started that remember our P-O-Ws, we have a bumper sticker from that era,” he says. Hogan hopes the display at the interpretive center of the park will spur donations of local memorabilia that will eventually become a permanent display.

“Hopefully this will kick start a few donations coming in for you know of items and then we can start on our permanent display,” Hogans says. “We would like a collage of pictures on the wall, so most of those pictures that you’ll see will be incorporated into that. But then I would like a showcase to have items inside there with little stories beside them.” Day endured more than five years of torture after being shot down. He escaped a P-O-W camp, but was recaptured and punished more for escaping. Hogan is a retired major who marvels at the fortitude of Day throughout the ordeal.

“To not hold endless hate in your heart, his faith, his faith in his country, everything that he did was geared towards getting back home to his family,” Hogan says. “And on the converse side of that, his wife was doing the same thing here. And that is a family value. I think that Americans have kind of let slip away.” Day earned 70 decorations in service to his country, second only to General Douglas MacArthur. Day was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General in 2017.

The Interpretive Center is currently open Saturdays from 10 a-m to 4 p-m in South Sioux City Nebraska.

(Creston, Iowa) – Two accidents occurred Thursday (today), in Creston, but no one was injured. According to Creston Police, the first accident happened at around 1-a.m., on Spruce Street. Authorities say a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 21-year-old Christopher Gage Selvy, of Creston, was stopped in a driveway. Selvy didn’t realize the vehicle was in reverse. When he reached down to grab something in the vehicle, he stepped on the accelerator.

The pickup crossed Spruce Street and struck a 1991 Dutchman camper which was parked in a yard. The camper was pushed into a 1990 Ford Econoline E-350 motor home/RV, which was also parked in a yard. The front of the camper also struck a 2006 Dodge RAM 2500 pickup, which was parked in front of the camper. No citations were issued.

Damage from the accident amounted to $10,500. Police were notified about the accident at around 9-a.m.

The second accident happened at around 1:30-p.m., Thursday, at S. Maple and E. Page Streets. Creston Police say a 2008 Dodge Avenger driven by 25-year-old Joshua Lee Rafter, of Creston, was traveling south on S. Maple Street, while a 2012 Chrysler van driven by 20-year-old William Brandon Berry, of Creston, was traveling east on E. Page Street.

As both vehicles entered the uncontrolled intersection, Rafter failed to yield the right-of-way. His car was struck on the passenger side rear door by the van. The damage amounted to $10,500 altogether. No citations were issued.