DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student protests, May-December 1971 | 1971-05-08 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""$5,000 Reward Offered In Civic Center Bombing""

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Student protests, May-December 1971

1971-05-08 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""$5,000 Reward Offered In Civic Center Bombing""

P-C 5/8/71

$5000 Reward Offered In Civic Center Bombing 

Damage Estimated At $3,500

The city if offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the predawn bombing of the Civic Center Friday. 
The offer was announced Friday afternoon after City Manager Frank R. Smiley conferred with city councilmen. 
Also late Friday, officials estimated the cost of repairing damage done in he bombing at $3,500. City Finance Director Joseph B. Pugh Jr. said the explosion broke about $3,000 worth of windows and did $500 in damage to the building's foundation. 
There apparently was no structural damage to the building, Pugh said. However, he said, if the bomb had been placed only a foot way, it would have damaged a concrete pylon supporting the building. 
The blast shattered 15 plate glass windows in the Council Chamber and blew a 12-square-foot hole in the building's concrete block foundation. 
The force of the explosion was concentrated in a basement room housing copying equipment. A new copy machine moved into the room a day earlier was covered with dust and slivers of glass, but was not damaged. 
Mayor Loren Hickerson has called the bombing "an act of madness."
The explosion came at 3:45 a.m. two hours after police had quelled the second night of disorders in downtown Iowa City. Authorities have not determined whether the blast had any connection with current unrest. 
Three agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division of the U.S. Treasury Department were called in early Friday to investigate the blast. 
Sifting through debris, the T men discovered the remains of a spring-powered timing device.
Authorities later Friday removed barricades sealing off the blast area from the inside and outside the building and boarded up the Council Chamber windows. 
The damage forced Police Judge Joseph Thornton to hold court in a conference room instead of the Council Chamber most of Friday. Police Court was moved back to the Chamber by late afternoon.

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P-C 5/8/71 $5000 Reward Offered In Civic Center Bombing Damage Estimated At $3,500 The city if offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the predawn bombing of the Civic Center Friday. The offer was announced Friday afternoon after City Manager Frank R. Smiley conferred with city councilmen. Also late Friday, officials estimated the cost of repairing damage done in he bombing at $3,500. City Finance Director Joseph B. Pugh Jr. said the explosion broke about $3,000 worth of windows and did $500 in damage to the building's foundation. There apparently was no structural damage to the building, Pugh said. However, he said, if the bomb had been placed only a foot way, it would have damaged a concrete pylon supporting the building. The blast shattered 15 plate glass windows in the Council Chamber and blew a 12-square-foot hole in the building's concrete block foundation. The force of the explosion was concentrated in a basement room housing copying equipment. A new copy machine moved into the room a day earlier was covered with dust and slivers of glass, but was not damaged. Mayor Loren Hickerson has called the bombing "an act of madness." The explosion came at 3:45 a.m. two hours after police had quelled the second night of disorders in downtown Iowa City. Authorities have not determined whether the blast had any connection with current unrest. Three agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division of the U.S. Treasury Department were called in early Friday to investigate the blast. Sifting through debris, the T men discovered the remains of a spring-powered timing device. Authorities later Friday removed barricades sealing off the blast area from the inside and outside the building and boarded up the Council Chamber windows. The damage forced Police Judge Joseph Thornton to hold court in a conference room instead of the Council Chamber most of Friday. Police Court was moved back to the Chamber by late afternoon.