Community: Iowa Fencers - anybody there?

[Mr Epee]

Fencing in Iowa has definitely been on an upswing

And it's not just happening in Des Moines

Are you folks ok?

It would be nice to hear updates regarding the status/safety/preservation of your fencing clubs and homes.

Is there anything that the f.net community can do for you?

Please let us know.

Hoping for the best,

MrE + MrsE

[Grimaldi]

Fencing in Iowa has definitely been on an upswing

And it's not just happening in Des Moines

Are you folks ok?

It would be nice to hear updates regarding the status/safety/preservation of your fencing clubs and homes.

Is there anything that the f.net community can do for you?

Please let us know.

Hoping for the best,

MrE + MrsE

As I'm in Iraq currently, I can't comment too much, but thankfully most of my Soldiers haven't had major issues. 1 lost house, 1 washed away car, and lots of wet basements (varying degrees).

The Des Moines fencing club practices in a West Des Moines community center in a place called Valley Junction, which was hit pretty hard in the 1993 floods. As I understand it, though, the levees and other systems put into place after that flood year have successfully kept flooding out of the area, so the club is still up and operational.

[davesaint]

The head of our division heard from Ron Herman and Jann Ream the other day. They are in Iowa City, and they are fine. I have not heard from anyone else out there yet.


Dave

[tchwojko]

I just heard on NPR that the Red Cross is borrowing money because of the flooding all across the midwest. They're currently short on funds. (I don't have a link to that report right now. Here's the Red Cross website: http://american.redcross.org) If you're thinking of donating money, it's a decent place to consider. (And many companies match funds, so check with your HR department!)

edit: Here's what a web search turns up for the state of the Red Cross:
"Red Cross Borrowing" news search results

[Lady Riposter]

I fenced with the Des Moines club up until recently. I left in preparation to move out of state but I did go back to substitute teach on Monday. The club's location in Valley Junction was fine. I have not heard stories of anybody from our club having significant problems.

Iowa's in pretty bad shape right now, though. As I drive up to Minnesota these last few weekends I can see water everywhere. There are many fields that probably won't be usable this year.

I'm glad to hear that Ron and Jann are fine, I'd been wondering about them. A significant portion of the University of Iowa campus was flooded.