While driving to town on Highway 382, I was passed by multiple emergency vehicles — sirens wailing, lights flashing — heading the other direction. As I pulled into a convenience store to buy gasoline and a lottery ticket, the clerk was outdoors, dressed in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, listening to their mobile device. They told me what anyone who heard the commotion must have been wondering.

“There was an incident involving a teacher and student at Lake Macbride.”

As I left the convenience store and drove south to the county seat, I was passed by two more emergency vehicles heading the other way.

The photograph from the Cedar Rapids Gazette and related story in Wednesday’s print edition didn’t tell much more, except it involved the School of the Wild, a University of Iowa program that connects school children with nature. I recognized the emergency vehicles that had passed me in the photo.

According to the updated, online version of the story, one adult drowned and one child was still missing on Wednesday morning. Names of the victims had not been released.

The Iowa City school district canceled its board meeting Tuesday evening because of the incident, and said “all School of the Wild field trips are canceled for the foreseeable future,” according to the Gazette.

By 8:30 a.m., on Wednesday, Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand was posting about the incident on social media.

This is how news like this travels in a community. I knew there was a story and some details before looking at any news media channel simply by paying attention to my surroundings. The store clerk told me the news.

Late Wednesday, KCRG posted the names of the 24 year old teacher and her 10 year old student who died. Click here for the story.

It was a sad day for our community.