Downtown

An Iowa rescue mission is closing its downtown thrift store and turning the retail floor into a 46-bed emergency shelter; the move will also free space for 25 beds for women and children

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An Iowa rescue mission is closing its downtown thrift store and turning the retail floor into a 46-bed emergency shelter; the move will also free space for 25 beds for women and children

Representative Image (AI-generated) As winter approaches, a rescue mission in Dubuque, Iowa, is making a major change to its downtown operations to create more emergency shelter space. The Dubuque Rescue Mission plans to close its downtown thrift store and convert the retail floor into a 46-bed emergency shelter for men. The move is also expected … Read more

For half a century, Massachusetts’ Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

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For half a century, Massachusetts' Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

For decades, a stretch of Mill Brook in Athol, Massachusetts, was hidden beneath asphalt, largely out of sight beneath what had become a downtown parking area. This month, the small central Massachusetts town celebrated a very different landscape: the stream is flowing in the open again, new wetlands surround it and much of the former … Read more

In 2004, Toronto began using cold water from 83 metres beneath Lake Ontario to cool downtown buildings; today the system serves 200 buildings across 40 million sq ft

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In 2004, Toronto began using cold water from 83 metres beneath Lake Ontario to cool downtown buildings; today the system serves 200 buildings across 40 million sq ft

Representative Image (AI-generated) Deep beneath the surface of Lake Ontario, a layer of naturally cold water has become an unlikely part of Toronto’s urban infrastructure. Instead of relying entirely on conventional air-conditioning systems to cool its downtown buildings, the Canadian city uses the lake’s cold temperature as a source of cooling energy. According to a … Read more

A retired North Carolina repairman built giant wind-powered sculptures from scrap; after 30 were moved downtown, the park drew 194,300 visitors and generated $5.3 million in regional sales

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A retired North Carolina repairman built giant wind-powered sculptures from scrap; after 30 were moved downtown, the park drew 194,300 visitors and generated $5.3 million in regional sales

Simpson used salvaged road signs, bicycle parts and scrap metal to create towering structures that moved with the wind. Vollis Simpson spent much of his life repairing farm machinery in Wilson County, North Carolina. After retiring, he began building huge wind-powered sculptures on his farm using discarded materials. What started as a hobby soon grew … Read more

Downtown Dallas fire: Smoke seen across Grand Prairie, Arlington and Duncanville; videos emerge

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A large smoke plume rises over downtown Dallas as fire crews respond.

A large plume of dark smoke was seen rising over the downtown Dallas skyline on Sunday evening, August 16, 2026. The smoke was visible from residential areas across the city, with videos showing a thick cloud rising above the buildings. The incident appears to involve a new fire in downtown Dallas. It is separate from … Read more