Iowa town faces uncertain future in wake of 2019 flooding

PACIFIC JUNCTION, Iowa (AP) — Census data shows that in the three years since devastating 2019 spring floods submerged Pacific Junction in southwest Iowa, the town’s population has shrunk from 475 to less than 100. Now the question is whether it will remain a town. Pacific Junction Mayor Andy Young recently told Omaha, Nebraska, television station KETV that he’s hopeful the town will see families coming back. Dozens of empty lots around the town are the result of federal buyouts, which stipulate a new home cannot be built on the property once the old one comes down.