Letter from NorthIowaToday.com Publisher Matt Marquardt to Iowa Department of Natural Resources regarding demolition of Madison School:
The school district is tearing down a very old school here in Mason City. As part of our news coverage for NorthIowaToday.com, I went to the school to take pictures and video of the demolition. The demo was on-going for weeks; it is mostly done now. I spoke to residents that live all around the school and they complained about the huge amount of dust blowing from the site. When I went to see what was going on (April 13), I was appalled at the amount of dust blowing from the debris heap. It was so thick you couldn’t breath. The debris had tiny silver particles in it, flying all through the air. People are saying it was (is) asbestos. In fact, my own throat burned for 2 days after my brief visit to the site.
This seems like a very dangerous situation. I notified police, the school district and the city of Mason City about my concerns for public safety. I only received a response from a councilman (Alex Kuhn) and a city official. The official stated “Demolition activities are subject to requirements of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The contractor must conform to their requirements.” Another official said “I spoke with Bob McKiness this afternoon. He agrees that there was fugitive dust leaving the site during yesterday’s demolition activity. He noted that during demolition they encountered an area of extremely dry material. The dry material was blown off-site by strong winds. McKiness’ crew was watering the debris and the pile today to keep dust under control. There are strong winds forecast for tomorrow. He hopes that they will be able to control the dust.”
As I understand it, the school debris is being dumped in an open area on the city’s north side. I am not sure what, if any, safety precautions have been taken or if there are hazardous materials in there.
I do believe the Iowa DNR needs to take a look at this situation, as local officials do not seem keen on making sure the public is protected. Please view the following story and accompanying video for yourselves to see the dust and debris at the demo site of Madison School. I will look forward to your response.
Matt Marquardt
NorthIowaToday.com Publisher
i worked on tearing down the clarion and we didnt have any complaints. we actually had the manager from pizza hut tell us we were doing a great job and keeping everything clean.
Gee last time i checked i didnt think Mckiness could control mother nature and make it not windy so the demo can go smoothly. I live in the neighborhood and they have done a great job going into people’s yards picking up blown debris and i did see them watering their piles. The crew is only doing their job.
“they have done a great job going into people’s yards picking up blown debris “
– So, it’s cool with you that junk and debris blew all over the neighborhood, and then random men enter the surrounding yards/properties and begin picking up said debris? Did they ask permission to walk into people’s yards? Did they pick up the dust, too? What about the potentially hazardous materials, did they get all that, as well? You’re obviously speaking for yourself (do you really live over there, or perhaps you’re a McKiness employee? hard to tell when you’re too embarrassed to use your name), but not the other neighbors I spoke with.
– And yes, they did start “watering their piles” but only after NIT exposed what McKiness was up to. Why didn’t they do that in the first place?
We will see what the DNR has to say about this.
Im not an employee, I live on 27th st sw, 1 block off of jefferson. I drive by Madison school at least 2-3 times a day.
You cant have it both ways, either you want the debris picked up or you dont. I wouldnt mind anyone coming into my yard if they were picking up crap. They shouldnt have to ask permission, at least they do it. you’d be bitchin if they left it.
Maybe you are the glob employee who lives in the yellow house on 27th. And, I’m sure your yard is full of crap.
Sorry didnt mean to hit report, meant to hit reply. No I do not work for the GLOB and i do not live in a yellow house.
Always the consummate professional that Matt Marquardt.
The Globe should go to people’s yards to pick up old editions of those freebee newspapers they throw around town as well.
@N.I.T.-I am surprised that the city responded to you at all. Usually they just ignore people until they go away. Dumping that debris on the Decker site is very bad any way. It is to close to the river and when it rains it will run into the river and pollute everything down stream. When Deckers shut down they had a major cleanup at that site just for that reason. Lets see how they reply to your request.
Yes, they are experts at ignoring people.
I did appreciate Alex Kuhn responding. He does a pretty good job.
@N.I.T.-I must agree with you. Kuhn does seem to do a decent job. He is approachable and at the least gives you a answer. It may not be the one you want, but it will be a answer. I can live with that. I think Alex has ambitions beyond the Mason City Council..