CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The American Red Cross currently has around 250 volunteers in northwestern Iowa cleaning up flood damage.

Peter Teahan, Red Cross spokesperson and volunteer, said flooding in northwestern Iowa has hit the region harder than it ever has in recent years, and it caught people by surprise.

”What it looked like when we got here was towns inundated with water. For those in Cedar Rapids who lived in the 2008 floods, it was similar to that, of course smaller towns,” Teahan said.

Governor Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for 27 counties in northwest Iowa, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance Program is already activated in five northwest Iowa counties.

Roads are flooded and towns are so isolated that groups like the Red Cross are having a hard time even getting in to help people, and the lack of available housing is leaving people without options.

”Until they can find the resources and the workers to build a new house they may need to relocate,” Teahan said.

Red Cross volunteers are managing five shelters and providing meals to people using emergency dispatch vehicles.

They’ve also started distributing emergency supplies to people who haven’t fully lost their homes to help with the extensive cleanup process.

”It’s not the water we think of when we go swimming or when we take our boat out on the water. This is all the chemicals and all the discharge from all over now in the water and inundating their houses,” Teahan said.

Even though help has been around for weeks, Teahan said it will take much longer before everyone can get back home.

”This is a long term process and a long term recovery. This is just the beginning.”

Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – On this episode, Iowa Political Director Dave Price speaks with Iowa State University extension economist Dr. Chad Hart about recent job cuts within the agriculture industry and how they will cause problems for other industries.

Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.

Iowa State Patrol and Ottumwa police are investigating the death of a 8-year-old boy who was killed by a truck while riding his bike on Tuesday.

First responders were dispatched to the 200 block of North Hancock and Dewey streets for a pedestrian crash involving an 8-year-old boy and a Dodge truck at around 12:25 p.m. Tuesday, police spokesperson Lt. Jason Bell said in a statement.

The 8-year-old died at the scene, Bell said.

Investigators reported that the truck had accidentally backed over the boy in an alley, Bell said. Police have identified the driver, but no charges have been filed as the crash is still under investigation.

The 8-year-old boy was identified as Jaxxon Cain, Ottumwa Community School District Superintendent Michael McGrory said in a statement.

Cain, who had recently finished second grade, was a cherished member of the school community, McGrory said.

 “This is a heartbreaking moment for our school district,” McGrory said. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family during this unimaginably difficult time.”

The district has organized support services for students and staff for anyone affected by Cain’s death, McGrory said.

“We ask that you keep Jaxxon’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate through this unimaginable loss,” McGrory said. “Together, we will honor the memory of Jaxxon and support one another through this heart-wrenching loss.”

José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com.