Northwest Iowa school damaged in boiler incident

News

January 6th, 2026 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – After significant damage to a soon-to-close school building in northwest Iowa, classes for elementary students in the Harris-Lake Park School District have been moved to other facilities. The boiler system in Harris-Lake Park Elementary malfunctioned Friday, causing steam, water and electrical damage in areas of the building. A new elementary school in the district is set to open within eight weeks. Students in all grades haven’t been in school so far this week, but classes resume tomorrow (Wednesday).

Preschool and kindergarten classes will be held at the Presbyterian Church in Lake Park and ALL classes for first through 12th graders will be held in the district’s building for middle school and high school students.

The building that’s been abandoned was built in the 1970s and school officials say its boiler system was not up to par and needed constant fixes. The building did not have air conditioning either.