IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s executive branch is getting a grim gift from a company that has long made uniforms for meatpacking workers: a free supply of 500 body bags.
Dickson Industries is donating the body bags as the state prepares for a worst-case scenario in which the coronavirus or another health emergency would overwhelm hospitals and medical examiners.
The Des Moines-based company makes garments and products for the food processing, medical and other industries, including coats and insulated jackets for meatpacking workers.
A state spokesman says the body bags will be kept in a state stockpile, just like 500 ventilators the state is purchasing.