18-07-2025
Parents left scrambling after Iowa church evicts daycare for ridiculous reason
More than 70 parents have been left scrambling to find child care after an Iowa church evicted a daycare from its premises for being too noisy.
St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Iowa City first told Loving Arms Kids Care that it had to be out by New Year's, KCRG reported.
The letter from the church accused the daycare of failing to address loud noise and not keeping a 'clean and orderly space'.
The church also mentioned a dispute about keys to the building that subjected 'the church to risk of theft and other potential losses'.
After repeated extensions past the original New Year's deadline, the church eventually forced the daycare out on June 30.
Kayla Kuepker, the director of Loving Arms Kids Care, said about 70 kids were being served by her organization.
One parent, Mick Dickinson, said his children have been attending this daycare for years and now has no idea what he's going to do.
'That immediately opens up so many questions. What are we going to do? How's this going to work? Do I have to take time off?' he said.
Kuepker claims she tried offering several solutions to the church so the daycare could continue operating there, but found that nothing was quite enough.
Daily Mail approached the church's pastor, Alberta Ervin, for comment on the eviction.
'I am thinking about the 70 kids who we serve, the kids who, some of them use state assistance,' she said.
'I'm thinking about their single mothers who won't be able to have a job.
'I'm thinking about my staff, them losing their health insurance.'
Loving Arms moved into a new, temporary location a few weeks ago.
But the uncertainty surrounding the move has made some parents reconsider their childcare needs.
Kuepker said they lost almost a third of their enrollment.
Parents who used Loving Arms spent months in limbo, not knowing if the daycare would survive.
'I am the second person I know being interviewed about short-term child care just being cut off,' Dickinson said.
'Even with all that help in a county like Johnson County, it's that difficult. I can't imagine in our more rural communities what's happening there.'
St. Mark's United Methodist Church is overseen by Pastor Alberta Ervin who is yet to comment on the eviction.
