8 Killed as Tornadoes Hammer Midwest

Midwestern tornadoes killed seven people in Iowa and a toddler in Minnesota yesterday as they tore paths of destruction through communities, CNN reports. The southern half of a town in Iowa was unrecognizable after a twister demolished the local high school, commercial areas  and some 200 houses. At least 50 people were injured in the town of 1,900, the Des Moines Register reports.

A twister north of the Twin Cities destroyed some 50 homes. An injured 6-year-old girl's heart stopped, but she was revived in an ambulance, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. It was “a blessing” that so many people were away from home for Memorial Day, said the local mayor.