That 100-foot deep sinkhole that opened up Thursday and swallowed a small barn near Buffalo in eastern Iowa has been filled in. Landowner Teresa Durant said her late husband sold limestone mining rights on their farm to Linwood Mining and Materials Company years ago. Now the mine shafts, many of which have been abandoned, run underneath Durant’s property. It was one of those that caved in. Engineers periodically check the shafts for weakness and had warned Durant of the danger. She says she did not believe them but emptied her barn anyway. Linwood officials say they’ll replace the barn. Durant says she’ll also make them document where the other mine shafts run. Durant says if there’s one under her house, they’re going to buy that, too!
