MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A house fire left four children dead and two people injured in northern Iowa. Mason City firefighters were called to the fire about 5 a.m. Wednesday in an older home in a neighborhood near the city’s downtown. The Mason City Fire Department says crews who arrived could see flames in the first and second floors of the house. The four children killed were identified as 12-year-old John Michael Mcluer, 10-year-old Odin Thor Mcluer; 6-year-old Drako Mcluer; and 3-year-old Phenix Mcluer. The fire department said 55-year-old John Michael Mcluer and 11-year-old Ravan Dawn Mcluer suffered burns and were treated at a hospital. The cause of the fire hadn’t been determined.
DENVER (AP) — A class-action federal lawsuit is accusing 11 of the United States’ largest beef and pork producers of conspiring to depress wages and benefits for its workers. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Denver last week. It alleges that the producers have worked together since at least 2014 to keep workers’ compensation lower than the market would allow in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. It seeks to represent hundreds of thousands of other people who have worked in jobs from slaughtering to production at the companies’ collective 140 plants. The lawsuit says they produce about 80% of the red meat sold to U.S. consumers.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -Efforts are ongoing to bring a senior center to Cedar Rapids. The city hasn’t had a dedicated facility since the 2008 flood. A temporary solution is underway as the city is in the early phases of planning for a multigenerational facility that would fill the void. Since July, older Iowans have been meeting at The Bridge, a Four Oaks facility located at 2100 1st Avenue NE. It’s a temporary solution made possible by the group forming a 501c3 and securing $32,000 in ARPA money from the city. The city is in the early phases of plans for a multigenerational space. It would fill the void for seniors, but also have space for people of other ages and possibly even sports facilities.
Iowa (KCRG) -Schools across Iowa are stocking up on Naloxone, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, often referred to by the brand name, Narcan. It’s part of an expanding state program to combat a rise in opioid deaths in Iowa. This state program, which is being funded by a two year, $18 million grant, was already available for organizations and businesses, but is now expanding to offer school districts free naloxone nasal spray kits. State data says Iowa is seeing an increase in opioid related deaths, with 258 opioid related deaths in 2021. That’s up from 213 deaths in 2020. Data from the CDC also shows a upwards trend in deaths nationwide, with overdose deaths involving opioids increased from an estimated 70,029 in 2020 to 80,816 in 2021.
