Mold reported in several Luther College residence halls as students describe health concerns and repair delays

Several Luther College residence halls in Decorah have experienced mold problems during the opening weeks of the academic year, according to a report published by Luther Chips on October 8, 2026. Miller and Dieseth Towers were among the buildings affected, with students also reporting problems in Baker Village, the College Apartments and some freshman residence halls without air-conditioning units.

The college has attributed the outbreak to unusually wet conditions. In an email sent to students on September 17, Provost Pam Bacon and Vice President for Facilities and Administration Patti Hetrick wrote, Over the past weeks, Decorah and Luther College have experienced a combination of consistent days of rain, cooler summer temps, and high humidity levels. They said mold has appeared in Luther residence halls before, but the increased rainfall made it more difficult to reduce indoor humidity and limit mold growth.

The source report explains that mold reproduces indoors through tiny spores that can float through the air and settle on wet surfaces. When mold begins growing, it can cause allergic reactions in sensitive people and act as an irritant. Associate Director of Facilities Paul Lentz similarly said the unusually wet late summer and early fall had created conditions that allowed mold to grow.

Students report mold on walls, vents and air conditioners

Lentz said problems in the College Apartments and Towers began September 14. He emphasized that the circumstances were not identical in every building. The Towers had different issues from individual College Apartment units, while an exhaust fan failure in Farewell Hall limited air circulation in some upper clusters.

Air conditioners and vents were among the surfaces identified by Bacon and Hetrick as most affected. Sophia Melody Keleher, who lives in Miller, said mold appeared on her wall, throughout her air-conditioning unit, across the vents and on the air filter. She also said mold was growing inside the machine and up the walls.

Keleher created a Google Form to collect reports from students concerned about mold in their rooms. The form received 112 responses. Based on those responses, she said the most frequently identified locations were the Towers, Baker Village and the Apartments. Reports also came from freshman dormitories that do not have air-conditioning units.

Linh Nguyen, a Dieseth resident, described the mold on her air conditioner by saying, I feel like it’s growing mushrooms. She considered submitting a Fix-It request, the college’s system for reporting problems in student living spaces, but did not do so. Nguyen said she understood Facilities already had about 400 orders and believed a response might not come quickly, so she cleaned the mold herself.

Megan Bumpus, who lives in the College Apartments, said her air conditioner broke earlier in the week and was replaced. She said that was where many residents had experienced the worst mold and believed replacing the unit released spores. Bumpus also said she had felt much sicker since the replacement. She expressed concern that she would be upset if required to leave the apartment because furniture purchased for the apartment would not fit in a dorm room.

Different accounts of response times and recurrence

Luther’s facilities response has included assessing, cleaning and mitigating reported areas. Lentz said Facilities responded when students submitted Fix-It reports. He said the majority of cases had been cleaned, treated and remediated without recurring problems.

Student accounts in the report describe a less consistent experience. Keleher said five Fix-It requests were needed before someone came to address the problem once. After the initial cleaning, she said mold returned throughout the room. Facilities later came back, and Keleher said the problem was ultimately resolved.

The differing accounts leave uncertainty about how quickly individual reports were addressed and how often mold returned. The college’s account describes most cases as resolved without recurrence, while Keleher described a return of mold after an initial cleaning. Nguyen did not file a report, and Bumpus’s concerns focused on both the condition of her apartment and the possibility of relocation.

College installs dehumidifiers and inspects buildings

Bacon, Hetrick and Dean of Students Julie Thornton have led Luther’s response. The measures described in the report include installing dehumidifiers in residence halls, inspecting residence halls, and cleaning and applying treatment to vents.

Contractors were also brought in for exterior work at Dieseth and Miller halls. Lentz said the work required lifts outside the buildings so crews could seal cracks in the exterior brickwork. He said the building-related circumstances varied, meaning the same explanation did not apply to every residence hall or apartment unit.

Students who find mold or another problem in their living space can submit a Fix-It report through Luther’s facilities system. The supplied report does not include an independent inspection, a collegewide count of affected rooms or a further deadline for completing the response. It does state that Facilities considers most reported cases cleaned, treated and remediated without recurrence.