News
"A million things up in the air" as Clingman ponders future of pharmacy building
City crews cleaned the sidewalk area around the fire site before installing fence around the area.
Jon Clingman expressed his gratitude to Mike LaGrange and the rest of the employees at LaGrange Pharmacy for making space available for him and his staff to fulfill prescriptions since the business building, and virtually everything inside was destroyed in the fire that started Thursday evening. Fire recovery under way: Fischer announces temporary office, Benton County title begins clean-up
Cleaning crews and volunteers spent part of Saturday doing what they could to salvage items from the Fischer law office building and remove smoke and water damage from the Benton County title building.
Several men, wearing dusk masks, hauled files from the Fischer building to the nearby former Benton Co. DHS building, which is currently unoccupied, for temporary storage. The earliest photos of, and the earliest response to, Vinton's historic fire (and an urgent safety reminder)
7:17 p.m.: The first of the flames at the Michael and Dowd building. (Photos by Mandy Kakac)
7:18 p.m.
As the wife of Garrison volunteer fireman Eric Kakac, Mandy Kakac knows more than most the urgent need for being aware of, and following, fire safety rules.
And as one of the witnesses to the first moments of Thursday's historic downtown fire, Mandy is also offering a powerful fire safety reminder. Michael & Dowd, Clingman buildings demolished
At 5 p.m. Thursday, it seemed like business as usual for Clingman Pharmacy and the Michael & Dowd businesses.
But the fire that burned all night and continued smoldering all day, all that was left of the two businesses were badly-damaged walls. City crews and men from Pickering Backhoe of Keystone made quick work of knocking down the walls.
Smoke continued billowing from the rubble throughout the night. Due to the weather...The Library is OPEN
The Vinton Public Library is open due to the lack of snow that was predicted.
Come on in, grab a book and to curl up with this weekend! Vinton-Shellsburg No School Friday February 9th
Due to the weather, there will be NO SCHOOL Friday, Feb 9... There will now be school on March 16 as that is our next snow make up day.
Fire destroys historic Vinton business; damagesother buildings on 4th Street/1st Avenue
Firefighters from several communities are on the scene of a huge fire in downtown Vinton. The Michael & Dowd furniture store caught fire and has sustained major damage.
Vinton firefighters, using their aerial truck, are spraying the building from above in an effort to keep flames from spreading to other buildings. Firefighters from Urbana-Polk Township and Garrison also spent hours at the scene. Feb 8: Last night's fire added another historic date to Vinton's story of rising to meet huge challenges
A view from the courthouse, showing the devastation caused by the fire. (Photo by Benton Co. Auditor Hayley Rippel)
Sept. 9, 2005.
June 12-13, 2008.
July 11, 2011.
July 17, 2016.
And now, Feb. 8 will join the dates mentioned above as historic events impacting Vinton, joining, in chronological order:
The American Legion Hall Fire, which happened across First Avenue from Thursday's fire that started in the Michael & Dowd store and spread;
The historic, 24. Matthew Gerhold to perform throughout the Southern U.S. with Concordia University's A Cappella Choir.
Matthew Gerhold of Atkins, Iowa and the University A Cappella Choir from Concordia University, Nebraska, will travel to Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana for its annual tour on March 2 - 11.The choir will conclude the tour with two local-area concerts on Sunday, March 18 at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas (Newman Center) in Lincoln and at 7 p.m. at St.
UPDATE ON VINTON DOWNTOWN FIRE
By Captain Eric Dickinson,Vinton Police Department
At 7:13 p.m. on February 8, 2018, a fire was reported in the Michael & Dowd Furniture store at 102 E. 4thStreet.
The fire subsequently spread to Clingman Pharmacy and the Fischer Law Firm. Additional smokeand water damage was sustained by other businesses. Despite efforts throughout the night, the fire isstill burning at this time and large amounts of smoke are affecting nearby businesses and residencesprimarily south of the scene.