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Seymour Residents Converting Nursing Home into School After Tornado Rips Roof Off Gym

People in Seymour are working to convert a closed nursing home into temporary classrooms, after a tornado heavily damaged the local K-12 school on Monday.  Caleb Housh is the city’s mayor.

“I can’t tell you how many local contractors have been in there, getting this building ready to go. I believe today they’re ready to start painting rooms. Teachers have reached out to their students, and the students are going to come in and help paint the classrooms and get them ready to go."

The school district hopes to resume classes a week from Monday.  The tornado was one of several that touched down in Iowa Monday evening.  It had winds estimated at 115 miles per hour, damaged about 100 gravestones in the local cemetery, and damaged several homes.  No one was killed or injured. 

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The pipe organ at Wesley United Methodist Church in Muscatine, Iowa

During the second half of this hour of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with Housh. We also hear from Bill Gallus, climate scientist at Iowa State University, and Katie Roquet, who is director of media ministries at Wesley United Methodist Church in Muscatine, where a tornado leveled one of the largest pipe organs in the Midwest. 

During the first half of this hour, Kieffer talks with Tony Leys, health reporter with the Des Moines Register; Clay Masters, Correspondent with Iowa Public Radio; and Jason Clayworth, investigative reporter with the Des Moines Register 

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Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River
Michael Leland is IPR's News Director