Good morning, it’s Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.

WEATHER FORECAST

TODAY — Sunny, with a high near 82. South wind 7 to 14 mph.

TONIGHT — Mostly clear, with a low around 55. South wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

FRIDAY — Sunny, with a high near 88. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 18 mph.

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CITY CAUSES 14-TEAM MEMORIAL CROSS COUNTRY MEET CANCELLATION

The plans of 14 schools to send boys and girls cross country teams to run today in Charles City’s Wildwood Park have been scuttled. It was not dangerous heat forcing the cancellation of a meet. This time it’s the city and damaged dry grass.

Boys head coach Ryan Rahmiller posted this announcement on the team’s Facebook page:

“Last night at practice (Tuesday), we were informed by CC Park and Rec that due to dry conditions of the fairways at Wildwood that we would not be able to run our meet there on Thursday. We made phone calls to as many reasonable venues as possible in the area and spent hours checking out local parks with GPS in hopes of finding an alternate location. There is a lot to consider when hosting a meet besides just making a 5000m and 3200m route, (which is challenging alone): bus parking, getting workers there and situated, fan parking, communication with other schools, lining the course, equipment like lead carts, etc.

“With the number of considerations and challenges in location and timing, we see no other choice but to cancel this event.

“This meet (Trent Smith Invite) means a lot to me personally (Coach RR) as it’s in honor of three boys who ran for our program. We look forward to hosting it in the future.

“The Comets will run at the Bob Scott Invitational next Thursday in West Union, IA.”