Audit: Halt U. of Iowa flood recovery projects

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor and members of Congress are decrying a recommendation from federal auditors to suspend federally-funded plans to replace the University of Iowa arts campus following a historic flood in 2008.

Iowa’s political leaders reacted angrily Thursday to a report from the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that concluded the federal government should not fund replacements for a university art building, music school and auditorium destroyed by floodwaters in 2008.

The report says the Federal Emergency Management Agency should suspend the projects and take away $84 million in promised funding because the buildings are eligible only for repair, not replacement.

Gov. Terry Branstad and Board of Regents President Craig Lang are calling on FEMA to stand by the projects and do so without delay.