University of Iowa wants to rebuild facilities away from river that flooded

From The Iowa City Press-Citizen: The University of Iowa wants to find new sites to rebuild two of the arts campus buildings that were flooded last summer. University officials will ask the Iowa state Board of Regents for approval to pursue replacements, rather than rebuilding at the existing sites, for Hancher Auditorium-Voxman Music Building-Clapp Recital Hall complex and Art Building East, according to a document in the Iowa state Board of Regents docket.

FROM FEBRUARY 2009: University of Iowa President Sally Mason says it will take years of work and money from the state for the school to recover from $230 million in damages from last spring's flooding. Mason told a legislative budget committee that the university would need the state's help to repair damage to 24 buildings. Mason says the $230 million estimate was only of flood damage and didn't include such costs as relocating facilities. (Quad City Times)

FROM JULY 2008: Some University of Iowa faculty returning to their once-flooded buildings are finding their offices have been ransacked, computers and electronic equipment stolen. At the Voxman Music Building, faculty have lost at least five computers, six camcorders, a handful of recording devices, many tools, a flute and a piccolo in addition to some personal items. The university's Department of Public Safety had received only one other report of flood-related thefts, but faculty in several formerly flooded buildings have said they are missing equipment. To read The Cedar Rapids Gazette article, click here.

EARLIER: School officials say the problems caused by flood waters at eastern Iowa colleges likely won't keep students away this fall. The obstacles created by the floods range from small scheduling headaches to multimillion dollar facility damage. But officials at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and Kirkwood Community College, Coe College and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids say the reaction from incoming students and their parents has been positive.
To read The Sioux City Journal article, click here.

A preliminary estimate shows the University of Iowa in Iowa City has $75 million in cleanup and structure replacement costs related to last month's flooding. The figure could climb higher because it does not include utility and tunnel damage, business interruption or excess fuel costs. To help speed up the cleanup process, the Iowa state Board of Regents has voted to allow the university to skip the normal competitive bidding process and to seek legislation that would grant regents more authority in emergency situations. (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

FROM JUNE 2008: More than 10,000 students are expected back at the University of Iowa in Iowa City after a one-week interruption in summer classes because of record flooding on the Iowa River.
To read The Quad City Times article, click here.

EARLIER: The University of Iowa, hit hard by flooding, is expected to resume summer classes Monday, but many buildings on the campus will remain closed. As of Thursday, 20 major buildings on the Iowa City campus were closed. Many of the summer classes have been relocated because of the flooding. The floodwaters have damaged some of the utility systems on campus, officials say. University Interim Provost Lola Lopes says, "The campus is nowhere near back to normal operations, but we know that many students depend on summer session to finish courses needed for graduation or for entry into selective programs."
To read more at the university's flood information site, click here.