
I received terrible news today from my college chum April: the flood in Iowa caused the collapse of part of the Sutliff Bridge, which was a historic landmark near where I went to college and a place I spent many happy hours hanging out with my friends. It was an old bridge spanning the Cedar River, and it had fallen into disrepair after being replaced by a new bridge a little downstream. But some local residents got together, leased it from the state, and renovated it into a park. It and the adjacent bar and grill were popular hangouts for Cornell College students, and I always made a point to visit it when I went back to Mt. Vernon for reunions and what have you. Short of losing one of the buildings on campus or the 33rd Ave. Perkins, this for me is the worst possible thing that could have happened as a result of the flood, and I'm just sick over losing it.