Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Riceville, IA

Riceville is a city in northern Iowa that sits squarely on the Howard-Mitchell county line - a 1919 county history notes that half of the town lies in Howard County and half in Mitchell County.

Riceville was platted in the spring of 1855 by three of the Rice brothers, who settled there that year with their widowed mother.

Riceville's post office was established in the spring of 1861, with Dennis Rice as the first postmaster.

In its early years Riceville became noted for its water power and fine milling facilities, and it served as a meeting point for settlers from both Howard and Mitchell counties.

Riceville was incorporated as a town in 1892.

The 2020 census counted 806 people in Riceville, living in 351 households.

Riceville's population peaked at 960 in 1920 and has stayed within the 740-to-960 range for more than a century.

Riceville's most famous native is Jane Elliott, the elementary school teacher who, in the wake of the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., developed her famous and controversial classroom exercise on the nature of prejudice and racism.

Riceville is the home of John and Larry Dinger, the first siblings to rise through the career ranks of the United States Foreign Service to both become ambassadors.

Riceville native Ray Conger held the world record for the 1,000-yard run and the American record for the 1,500 meters, and competed at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.