COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) - Leaders in western Iowa say lingering floodwaters and damage from last year's Missouri River flooding has led them to again cancel Loessfest.
The Council Bluffs City Council said Friday in a news release that restoration work on Tom Hanafan River's Edge Park, which connects to neighboring Omaha, Nebraska, via the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, can't begin until after the spring thaw. There isn't enough time between the thaw and the Memorial Day weekend event to get the work done, the council said.
Loessfest was established in 2013 and has become the community's traditional kick-off to summer. Last year, Loessfest was initially postponed to Labor Day weekend, then canceled altogether due to ongoing flooding.
Other locations were considered before canceling this year's festival, officials said. But it was ultimately decided that a critical component of Loessfest its location adjacent to Omaha, from which many people bike, walk, or drive to the festival.