Confirmed Ghost Sighting at historic Davenport, Iowa City Hall

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The center of city government lies in an 1895 vintage building with a history. The building was massively expensive for the times ($90,000) and built without the normal municipal bonds or loans. Our city fathers paid it off with cash. Sound like solid civic government, well maybe and… maybe not. Back in the 1890s, Iowa had prohibition. Not to be confused with the grand experiment, Federal Prohibition made into law by the 18th Amendment in 1920, this was a state mandated prohibition. But the Davenport City fathers had a better plan.

Davenport set up ongoing fines for the 200+ saloons and 30 odd brothels within the city limits. It was a semi-legal protection racket with Davenport collecting something like $60,000 a year in monthly “fines” from the owners and employees of the joints. Those who resisted were dealt with harshly and had almost no legal rights in the matter.

The place has a reported history of paranormal activity. Actually, dozens of people claim to have seen the ghost of a hanged man in the tower at night, allegedly from prisoners who were illegally hanged there. Until recently, this information has been unsubstantiated and shared on paranormal enthusiast websites with questionable names. For example, www.hauntedplaces.org and www.ghostsofamerica.com both feature reports of one type or another. But, yesterday this changed.

The DPD, responding to an unruly late night crowd on the corner of Fourth Street and Harrison, arrived in force. According to Sgt. Jones, the officers arrived shortly after midnight to a gathering of 30-40 young bar goers and noticed the group "migrating" toward City Hall. Expecting vandalism or other criminal mischief they noticed what appeared to be a person on the high point of the main tower.

After calling for assistance from the nearby Fire Department, search lights and cameras were brought to bear on the structure. Again referencing Sgt. Jones, "None of us were quite prepared for what we saw. At first, I thought it was a prank, but after checking my body cam and the tapes from several dash mounted cameras, I am not sure how to describe it."

According to a release from the local newspaper, the city manager plans to release tapes and witness accounts at a press conference early next week.

This is a satirical website. Don't take it Seriously. It's a joke.

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