Iowa Couple Sues Over Location Of Noisy Town Siren
Warning sirens are put up for a variety of different reasons. Here in Iowa, we have them for use during storms. You'll even hear them tested on the first Wednesday of each month. Yes, they can be loud, but they're supposed to be. They're warning of us of something we need to be aware of. But now imagine that you live across the street from such a siren, and it goes off nearly every day. An Iowa couple is living in that exact situation.
Phillip and Leslie Bago bought their house on Division Street in Lucas, Iowa back in 2002, according to KCCI. Sometime after that, the city of Lucas put up a warning siren just 50 yards from their home. The Bagos say that the siren, which goes off daily by the way, was just annoying at first. But now it has turned into something much worse. Leslie says that the siren now "petrifies" her and that she watches the clock and waits for it to go off each day.
The Bagos decided the take legal action. KCCI reports that a lawsuit filed this month accuses the city of Lucas and leaders in the city of trespass, negligence, nuisance, and the denial of right to procedure and to due process. The suit says that the siren is too close to the home and that it is tested far too often. Other members of the town who live near the siren don't share the feelings that the Bagos do. They claim people in the town use the siren as an alarm, alerting them to dinner and for their children to come home.
Leslie Bago disagrees, saying that her kids refuse to come and visit anymore because of the loud noise. The city of Lucas have declined to comment on the lawsuit.