A towering northern catalpa at Des Moines’ Woodland Cemetery was struck by lightning last week, scattering debris for hundreds of feet and leaving its survival uncertain.
Why it matters: The tree was identified last year as Iowa’s sixth-largest known northern catalpa, granting it statewide significance beyond the cemetery.
State of play: A large section of the tree was damaged, and it’s unclear whether the tree is a total loss, cemetery historian Mike Rowley tells Axios…