Iowa
Iowa school district allowed employees to work amid asbestos contamination – Iowa Capital Dispatch
A northeast Iowa school district allowed some of its employees and other workers to be inside an asbestos-contaminated building despite a warning from state regulators to vacate it, according to state records.
That has resulted in significant fines for the North Linn Community School District, which undertook an expansive renovation of its middle and high school complex near Coggon in 2022. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the district $70,000, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently fined the district $6,000.
“Employees were potentially exposed to asbestos fibers in the air when performing daily tasks,” according to Iowa OSHA documents obtained by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
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The contamination resulted from a multimillion-dollar renovation of the buildings that included the addition of air conditioning. It happened in August 2022, when a worker who was prepping a floor for new carpet used a floor buffer to scrape old glue that remained from a previous carpet installation.
Months before, the underlying vinyl tile had been identified by workers as potentially containing asbestos, a fibrous material that can become airborne and inhaled by people.
Asbestos fibers can become lodged in people’s lungs and can cause irritation, scarring and cancer. The state has strict rules about its handling and disposal.
Rather than remove the asbestos-containing tiling at considerable expense, the district opted to leave them untouched, according to OSHA records. It’s unclear why the worker used the buffer on the tiles but after the work began, another worker noted the potential for contamination. Someone alerted the DNR, which recommended that the building be vacated.
That didn’t happen, OSHA records show.
Instead, at least 10 renovation workers signed a waiver of liability to continue to work that said: “I understand the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is recommending I do not work in this area due to the possibility of contaminated air with asbestos fibers. I am choosing to disregard the recommendation and continue working,” according to a recent DNR order.
“DNR also believed there to be at least 10 more people in the building that had not signed the waivers, and it is unclear if they were aware of the asbestos issue,” the order said.
Dave Hoeger, who was superintendent of the school district at the time and was told to clear the building of people, did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article. He is now superintendent of the Maquoketa Valley and Edgewood-Colesburg school districts.
Initial testing showed significant asbestos contamination in the area of the disturbed tiles, and those who continued to work were away from the area. However, subsequent tests revealed widespread contamination in many other rooms.
About 20 school employees might have been exposed to asbestos, OSHA noted, but the department concluded that the exposure was “limited.”
DNR asbestos investigators went to the building the day after the contamination was reported and again recommended to evacuate and lock the building, which Hoeger then did.
The school district hired a company to clean the building of asbestos, and classes commenced about two weeks later.
Two companies that did the renovation work — Tricon General Construction of Dubuque and SitelogIQ of Minneapolis, Minnesota — were each initially fined by OSHA for about $99,000. They appealed and paid $10,000 apiece, according to OSHA records.
SitelogIQ was also fined $6,000 by the DNR, and Tricon was fined $3,000.
The school district was initially fined about $87,000 by OSHA but later agreed to pay $70,000, which it did in December 2022.
North Linn announced it had hired a new superintendent about two months later.
There are no pending lawsuits against the school district that are tied to the potential asbestos exposures, according to court records.
The Iowa Hawkeyes faced the Rider Broncs on Tuesday night in a showdown at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes defeated the Broncs, 83-58.
Pryce Sandfort continued to prove himself and led Iowa in scoring with 22 points. Owen Freeman was close behind with 19 points after being absent from the last game played at Carver. Tariq Ingraham led the Rider team, scoring 14 points.
Iowa will play again on Friday, November 22, against Utah State.
Players warmup before an Iowa men’s basketball game against Rider University at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov. 19 The Hawkeyes defeated the Broncs, 83-58.
Video: Fran McCaffery reacts to Iowa’s win over Washington State
Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Washington State on Friday.
IOWA CITY — Iowa guard Josh Dix is out for the Hawkeyes’ matchup with Rider on Tuesday.
Dix injured his wrist during Iowa’s win over Washington State on Friday in Moline, Ill. He tried playing through it but was largely ineffective and finished the game with just two points.
“Hopefully Josh’s injury will be taken care of relatively quickly,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said after the game. “We’ll have to see.”
The junior has started four games for the Hawkeyes this season, averaging 12.3 points and four assists per contest while shooting 44.4% from deep.
The Hawkeyes have already been hit with injuries fairly often this season. Seydou Traore missed the first two games. Owen Freeman was unavailable for the game against South Dakota due to illness. Freshman Chris Tadjo, who is also out Tuesday, has also missed time.
Iowa plays Utah State on Friday in Kansas City, Missouri, in what is expected to be the Hawkeyes’ biggest challenge to date this season. The Aggies will enter that matchup with a 4-0 overall record and haven’t scored less than 95 points each game this season.
Dix’s status for that matchup will be an important storyline to track.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Verdon, Sadowsky, McLaughlin
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on defense bouncing back with return of Will McLaughlin, Malik Verdon, and Jack Sadowsky playing.
Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books, and several former Iowa State players had huge hands in their teams’ performances.
The collection of ex-Cyclones in the NFL continues to grow, with several more added to rosters this season after having around a dozen consistently active last season. While the star-studded names like Brock Purdy, Breece Hall and David Montgomery continue to shine week after week, several others Iowa State fans will recognize are making significant impacts at the pro level too.
With that, here are a few ex-Cyclones who stood out in Week 11 of the NFL season.
David Montgomery, Detroit Lions RB
Everyone on the Detroit Lions got a piece of the action in Sunday’s 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Montgomery was right in the middle of the dominance.
The former Iowa State running back finished with 15 carries for a game-high 75 yards and two touchdowns. Montgomery also added three catches for 20 yards.
He’s now found the end zone 10 times this season, but Sunday was Montgomery’s first game with multiple touchdowns since a 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 13. Montgomery and the Lions are rolling right along this season.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers QB
Just when Purdy and the 49ers seem like they’ve turned a corner, disaster strikes on the field. That’s what happened in Sunday’s 20-17 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The former Iowa State quarterback still managed a decent day, finishing 21-for-28 for 159 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Purdy also added five carries for 40 yards and a score. He’ll look for a rebound winning performance Sunday at Green Bay.
Breece Hall, New York Jets RB
It’s a broken record at this point. Hall goes for a decent day, even as his New York Jets continue to sputter significantly.
In Sunday’s 28-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the former Iowa State running back finished with 16 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. Hall also added seven catches for 43 yards and a score. It’s impressive the stats keep coming even as the wins aren’t.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
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