(Radio Iowa) – An investigation is underway into a fire that gutted a downtown Malvern business Monday night. Agencies from four southwest Iowa counties responded to the fire at Mulholland Grocery. Mills County Emergency Management Coordinator Larry Hurst says the county’s communications center received a call shortly after 5:30 p.m. from a store employee reporting a fire in the back of the building.

After establishing a command center upon arrival, Hurst says Malvern firefighters realized they needed help from surrounding agencies.

Twenty-nine area agencies responded to the scene, including 22 fire departments, three rescue units, two emergency management agencies and Mills County Sheriff’s Office. Hurst says securing adequate water supplies was a major challenge.

Hurst says firefighters brought the fire under control at around 11 p.m., but Malvern’s unit stayed at the scene until early Tuesday morning extinguishing hot spots. Malvern says the Mulholland building is a total loss, and some adjoining businesses suffered damage.

Hurst says he’s proud of not only the “all hands on deck” approach to the fire from various agencies, but also the Malvern community’s response.

An investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office will be continuing with an investigation into the cause of the fire.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday), approved a request from a family, for the spreading of cremains of a person whose urn was shallow buried on property that’s changed hands in ownership. The urn – with the top of the container less than three-feet below the surface, in section 17 of Bear Grove Township was disinterred when the property was sold, and the family has asked permission of the new property owner to scattered those cremains. The owner graciously agreed to allow the family to proceed.

Board Chair Steve Baier said Iowa Code allows for the spreading of ashes on PRIVATE PROPERTY. Prior to the Board’s approval, Baier read the Resolution as written.

The Board heard a brief report from County Engineer Trent Wolken, who said Secondary Roads Department personnel have been conducting additional “grub clearing,” and are hauling dirt to the culvert on Indian Creek Road, in an attempt to get as much done this week as possible, and getting the contractor ready for dirt.

He said also, an offer has been extended to and accepted by a candidate who had applied and was interviewed for an open position in the Secondary Roads Department. Wolken will have their name on the agenda for approval by the Board. There were 13 applicants for the job and six candidates interviewed. The interviews concluded Monday.

The Cass County Supervisors tabled action on the establishment of an abatement plan for property improvements to certain classes of property in the non-incorporated portion of the County, while additional research on such matters is conducted.

They passed a Resolution pertaining to $1-million in General Obligation Capital Loan Notes (Series 2022A and 2022B), in authorizing a form of Loan Agreement, providing for the issuance and levying of a tax to pay for the Notes, along with approval of the Tax Exemption Certificate.

And, the Board set January 11, 2022 as the date for a public hearing on an amendment of the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Cass County Budget.

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School Board met Monday evening at the High School, in Anita. They current Board retired and adjourned after some old business.

That’s CAM Superintendent Paul Croghan, who said they welcomed Todd McKee who had previously served on the Board and was re-elected, along with new Board member Cara Murphy. The new Board then gavelled-into session, with the election of officers and other administrative matters.

Lindsay Jahde was re-appointed as Board Secretary/Treasurer. Paul Croghan said also, the Board approved two staff contracts, Monday evening.

(He said contracts were approved for Jenni Follman – Junior High Girl’s Basketbal, and Trent Golz for Junior High Wrestling.)

There were no resignations to come before the Board. In other business, the Board approved the disposal, through an online auction system, of Bus #9, which has a leaking diesel fuel tank, as well the lease of eight International buses from Hogland for the next school year.

The Board also approved a bid of $29,000 for the repair of locker rooms at the high school. And they discussed the district’s facilities and the (failed) Nov. 2nd bond referendum results.

(Radio Iowa) – A bipartisan bill targeting meth breezed through the U-S Senate last (Monday) night that was co-sponsored by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and California Democrat Dianne Feinstein. Grassley, a Republican, says the bill aims to bring better help to addicts and greater punishment for dealers. “The bill designates meth as an emerging threat,” Grassley says, “and directs the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a nationwide plan to address the rising use of meth.” Grassley says the legislation, called the Methamphetamine Response Act, aims to fight addiction in rural communities and beef up the government’s ability to fight the drug.

“This bill unanimously passed the Senate last night,” Grassley says. “It’s now up to the House to act so that we can get this bill on the books and prevent more devastation in our communities caused by that poison.”  Opioids and fentanyl are getting a lot of national attention, according to Grassley, because those highly addictive substances are “flooding across the Southern border” and they keep evolving to stay ahead of law enforcement. While opioids are a big worry, he says meth is also a primary concern. “This drug is not new, however drug traffickers are finding new and harmful ways to increase methamphetamine’s potency and distribution,” Grassley says, “and obviously, this is spiking overdose rates.”

A state report found the number of overdose deaths in Iowa in 2020 from opioids, like fentanyl, and stimulants such as meth, hit a record high of 369. That death rate is up almost 18-percent from the previous year.

(Malvern, Iowa) – The owner of a fourth-generation family-owned grocery store in Malvern, issued a statement on social media this (Tuesday) morning. Tom Mulholland wrote in a Facebook post, “To the firefighters and first responders that came from miles around; I say “THANK YOU. Firefighters from every community within 30 miles came to help, 17 communities was the number I heard, and it was the efforts of all of them that saved my neighbors, and mere words cannot express my gratitude for that. I am facing many headaches, issues, and problems from this fire for months to come, but knowing that my neighbors are not injured or facing devastating losses that they had no control over makes this easier.”

He also apologized for a boil order issued, when the City of Malvern’s water supply was exhausted to help fight the fire. “I apologize for the inconvenience it will cause for hundreds of people,” Mulholland said. He added, “I have reached out to people at my warehouse and they are working on getting a water delivery to the community as soon as they can. I wish I could do more to help.”

Part of Mulholland’s early-morning post included a message to his great grandfather and grandfather who ran the store more than a decade ago: “I am sincerely sorry for the loss of what so many worked so hard for, for well over a century. The blood, sweat, and tears of many rest there, and memories for many more.”  Tom Mulholland promised he would work to insure employees are taken care of. But less than 12-hours after the fire, the future of the business was uncertain.

Mulholland Grocery Store fire (Photo from the Mulholland Grocery Facebook page)

Mulholland wrote “To my customers; I have no idea what the future holds at this time. If you had already placed orders with us for the holidays, I apologize that you will be forced to scramble to cover what you were expecting. To my friends, customers, and supporters near and far, again, words cannot express the gratitude for the love and support I have been shown over the past 12 hours.”

The first crews arrived on the scene at around 5:45-p.m. For the next six-hours, over a dozen fire departments and numerous personnel worked to contain the flames and prevent adjacent structures from burning. Just before the roof collapsed at 7:30-p.m. an urgent “Evacuate the roof!” call went out, with firefighters scrambling to safety. No injuries were reported. A cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Among the fire departments and emergency personnel responding to the scene at 409 Main Street in Malvern, in addition to Malvern Fire, were crews and equipment from: Hastings, Silver City, Glenwood, Macedonia, Carson, Sidney, Henderson, Randolph, Shenandoah, Oak Township Fire and Pacific Junction.