A second lawsuit has been filed after the partial collapse of a downtown Davenport apartment building that killed three tenants, according to the Des Moines Register. Building Collapse Suit
Lexus and Quanishia Berry were in their apartment on May 28th when their part of the six-story building dropped to the ground. Lexus was able to escape, but Quanishia was trapped for nearly eight hours, and only got out of the rubble after part of one leg was amputated.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday names building owner Andrew Wold, several LLCs connected to him, as well as his property management company, engineering firm, and contractors. It also names the City of Davenport and the building’s prior owner.
Effective today, the use of nicotine products not approved for smoking cessation is now prohibited on Sioux City property, according to a statement released today by Siouxland District Health.
This new, comprehensive, tobacco and nicotine free policy refers to any city owned building or grounds, including parks, swimming pools, trails, and baseball and soccer fields.
Tobacco/nicotine is only allowed on sidewalks in the public right of way, within the confines of privately owned vehicles, and in parking lots adjacent to public buildings but must be at least 25 feet from any building entrance.
Drought conditions expanded in Iowa last week and might cover the entire state by month’s end, according to the federal Climate Prediction Center.
That is a change in expectations from its report two weeks ago, when drought was predicted to recede in much of the state in the coming months.
The US Drought Monitor reports that the state faced a dry May with only 2.54 inches of rainfall, which is just over half of its normal rainfall for the month. This lack of rainfall has led to deteriorating conditions in soil moisture and stream flows across the state.
Parts of Monona and Harrison Counties are in extreme drought. Southwest Iowa has been hit the hardest with less than two inches of rain, which is only 35 percent of expected May precipitation.
And Siouxland District Health has confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer in Plymouth County for the first time. Insect samples were collected from an ash tree in Remsen after an area tree service alerted the department of a tree with symptoms of an infestation. The Emerald Ash Borer is a non-native, wood-boring insect threatening all species of ash trees.
Indicators of an infestation may include canopy thinning, leafy sprouts shooting from the trunk or main branches, “S”-shaped galleries under the bark, bark splitting, woodpecker damage, and 1/8-inch D-shaped exit holes.
The invasive, ash tree-killing insect from Asia has now been found in 36 states and confirmed in all but two of Iowa’s 99 counties. The only remaining counties in Iowa without a detection are Emmet and Palo Alto. The ash borer was found in Woodbury County last year.
