(Radio Iowa) — The tornado that hit and heavily damaged the Marshaltown Lennox plant on July 19th will cost the company millions of dollars in sales. Lennox International C-E-O Todd Bluedorn gave investors an update on the situation Tuesday in a conference call with investors. “For the second half of 2018 we are estimating that the impact from the tornado will cost approximately 100 million in lost revenue, and 55 million in lost profit for our residential business segment,” Bluedorn says.  He says the Marshaltown plant manufactures their two high-end systems that have a larger profit margin — and that contributes to the profit loss. “We are also moving toward the heating season and the furnaces are among our highest margin products,” Bluedorn says. “The final impact to mention is that we want to make sure we maintain our close dealer relationships and keep our sales force intact. So we are making are sale representatives financially whole during this temporary shortage of enough high-end systems to sell.”

He says the tornado will cost an additional 80 million dollars in charges in 2018. “Which includes site cleanup costs, asset write offs and factory inefficiency costs. Over the course of 2018 and 19 we expect business interruption and property insurance proceeds to offset both the earnings impact from lower revenue and the special non-core charges resulting from the tornado,” according to Bluedorn.  The company has a stock of 40 days for some products and 90 days for others, and he says a tight supply could be felt until they are back at top production. “We expect some of our high-end business to be borrowed by others in the short term — but we have a loyal Lennox dealer base — and we expect the business to return as our high-end volume returns through production at our other factories and Marshalltown ramps up,” Bluedorn says.

Bluedorn says even with all the damage to the Marshalltown plant, they have started limited production. “It’s just a matter how quickly we can ramp up,” he says, “it’s amazing when you look at the photos of the damage that took place and how quickly our guys are back up. We brought back 150 hourly employees, we have our full salaried workforce back.”

The plant has around 14-hundred workers at the time of the tornado. Bluedorn says the company has one BILLION dollars in insurance with a 250-thousand dollar deductible. He says they have already seen some insurance payments as they work toward recovery. Marshalltown’s plant accounted for around 25 percent of the company’s production, and some of the manufactoring of the high-end products has been moved to Lennox’s plants in Mexico and South Carolina while the reconstruction is underway.  “I would tell you that I hope I never live through another tornado in my business career,” Bluedorn says. “But again it shows the benefits of having multiple factories producing different products at multiple locations.”

Bluedorn says they are not sure if some of the high-end production will stay at those other plants, and says they will evaluate all their systems and needs as they move forward with the rebuilding of the Marshalltown plant.

(KCRG-TV via Radio Iowa) — A woman who competed against and became close friends with Mollie Tibbetts says she hopes people will remember Mollie for how she lived, not how she died. Alexis Morrison told KCRG-TV she first met Mollie in the eighth grade. Both loved running and faced each other on the track. “We ran our whole high school and middle school career together,” Morrison said. “We were always right by each other in every race.”

Mollie ran for BGM and Alexis for Montezuma schools. Alexis said while she always looked forward to races against Mollie, it didn’t matter who won. They encouraged each other to post personal best times. “We prayed together and stuff before every race to help each other,” Morrison said.  The 20-year-old Tibbetts, who was to be a sophomore at the University of Iowa, disappeared on July 18 while on a jog in her hometown of Brooklyn. On Tuesday, authorities announced the arrest of a 24-year-old man who’s accused of killing Tibbetts and leaving her body in a cornfield. Morrison said she’ll focus on her memories of Mollie, but the life-long runner said this situation has changed her routines. She now takes some precautions before heading out on trails through Poweshiek County.

“My husband actually just bought me a taser because I’m training for a half marathon and it’s really scary to be out there,” Morrison said.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Two southeast Iowa women have been accused of not providing enough nutrition to the son of one of them, contributing to his death. Des Moines County District Court records say 36-year-old Amber McIntosh and 41-year-old Bobbie Crear, of West Des Moines, are charged with child endangerment resulting in injury. They’ve denied any wrongdoing. Court records don’t show their attorneys’ names.
The women are accused of not providing enough nutrition to 12-year-old Rylan McIntosh, who died last September. Authorities say the boy’s medical conditions required that he be fed a nutrition drink through a tube to his stomach. An autopsy report lists the cause of his death as undetermined.
A court document says state investigators suspected the women didn’t adequately feed the boy because the pair had been using drugs. The document says the woman tested positive for methamphetamine after a school official reported concerns about the boy’s weight loss over the summer of 2017.

The man charged in the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa college student is expected to make his initial court appearance this (Wednesday) afternoon. 24-year old Cristhian Bahena Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared July 18 from Brooklyn, Iowa. He’s set to appear at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma at 1 p.m. A criminal complaint alleges Rivera followed Tibbetts while she was out for a run, abducted and killed her, and dumped her body in a cornfield. Investigators say Rivera led them to a body believed to be Tibbetts early Tuesday.

An autopsy is scheduled for today (Wednesday) by the state medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Rivera was being held in the Poweshiek County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond.

The Mills County Attorney’s Office reports a Pacific Junction man, 39-year old Christopher Lee Irvin, was charged Tuesday with Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, a Class C Felony, and two counts of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee, each an Aggravated Misdemeanor. Irvin was being held in the Mills County Jail pending an initial appearance before the magistrate.

Irvin is an elementary art teacher, head cross country coach, and assistant track coach employed by the East Mills School District, in Mills County. In an interview on August 17th, 2018, a juvenile female disclosed that in late July or early August, Irvin touched her in the groin and buttocks area. The juvenile further disclosed that on or about April 20, 2018, he rubbed his genitalia upon her bare feet.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation. Christopher Lee Irvin was arrested by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and transported to the Mills County jail without incident on August 21st.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A county attorney in southeast Iowa says she’ll donate fine money her office has collected to help feed schoolchildren. The Hawk Eye reports that Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers told county supervisors Tuesday that her office has collected about $120,000 in fines from unpaid court fees, not including portions of the fine collections that go to the county and state.
She says she will provide money this week to superintendents at each school district in the county to help feed students who need the financial help.