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Authorities identify victim of gender reveal party explosion

By The Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a woman killed in a pipe bomb explosion at a gender reveal party in Iowa.

The Marion County sheriff’s office says 56-year-old Pamela Kreimeyer died instantly after debris struck her in the head in rural Knoxville.

Authorities say the Kreimeyer family had been experimenting with different types of explosives in hopes of recording a gender reveal ceremony that could be posted on social media for friends and family.

They say family members used gunpowder to create a homemade stand that was supposed to blow colorful powder indicating the child’s sex, but tape over the top of the metal tubing inadvertently created a pipe bomb that sent shrapnel flying.

Kreimeyer was standing 45 feet (14 meters) from the device when it exploded.

PHOTOS: DC, US sites light up in purple and gold to celebrate 19th Amendment centennial

By Megan Cloherty
Landmarks across D.C. and the U.S. were lit in purple and gold Wednesday night, in honor of the centennial anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, which afforded women the right to vote. Many sites in D.C. — including the White House, National Archives, Smithsonian museums, Kennedy Center, the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Museum — and some 300 sites across the U.S. were bathed in color, including Niagara Falls and the Gateway Arch.
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