Poor air quality impacting Iowa seniors and kids

IOWA CITY and CORALVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – Melrose Meadows Retirement Community is taking extra precautions when it comes to poor quality and more people are staying inside.

The retirement home had to cancel and postpone several outdoor activities. That included a trip to a local ice cream shop to get a snack and eat outside. They said the people who live there can choose to go outdoors but they do remind them the air quality is poor.

Iowa’s DNR said anyone sensitive to particulate matter, like older adults, should limit their time outside.

“If they happen to go outside, just the smell that’s like the biggest thing I’ve heard, the smell and the look,” said Rachel Ousley, Assistant Nurse Manager at Melrose Meadows Retirement Community, ”you can tell there’s a difference in the air quality.”

One woman who lives there said she rarely goes outside because of an injury to her leg but she’s never seen air quality like this. She’s lived in Iowa City for almost two decades.

”It’s unfortunate for people that have to be close to it,” said Betty Kirchner Resident at Melrose Meadows Retirement Community, ”have the smoke come this far, it’s just unreal.”

Melrose Meadows said more people are taking walks inside the building and in their underground garage.

Thursday, the Iowa Children’s Museum in Coralville was again a popular destination for families looking for indoor fun, given the smoke. The Children’s Museum says it saw twice the visitors yesterday, compared to the week before. They’ve also had an uptick in daycares bringing groups for field trips. The Director of Marketing and Communications said this is a great resource for families.

“Our space is designed to be somewhere if families want somewhere they can learn and play at the same time. Use their bodies, use their brains, get out of the house and come play,” said Amanda Thys, Iowa Children’s Museum Director of Marketing & Communications.

One mom from Pella said she changed her plans to stay at the museum for most of the day.

“We were already planning a trip out to Iowa City and we probably would’ve spent more time outside walking around downtown and over at the old capitol mall area but we definitely moved our plans more indoors today just because of the air quality,” said Sarah Rybkowski.

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