Cedar Rapids Combined Statistical Area News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

CEDAR RAPIDS Flood threats are too familiar to Al Pierson, owner of a 92-year-old business in the Time Check neighborhood.
He recalls six times that Pierson’s Flower Shop and Greenhouses, 1800 Ellis Blvd. NW, has faced rising waters from the Cedar River. He’s had to evacuate before, but the 2008 flood marked the first time floodwater actually came on the property.
“It isn’t just the people that get wet,” said Pierson, whose business closed for five months after the flood. “It’s the whole city that is affected mentally, physically, economically.”
When businesses get flooded, they have to close for prolonged periods or potentially relocate, Pierson said, ultimately hurting the economy and the workers who fuel it. ....

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