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Bernard, Iowa

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Prairie Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52032. The Survey maps it on the Bernard quadrangle. 114 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 919 feet above sea level.

Bernard within Dubuque County

On record in Bernard

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Bernard grew from 112 to 114 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010112
2020114+2 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

1 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Bernard in 2020, burning about 2 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
30 August 2020Debris and open burning2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dubuque County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Bernard: 2 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bernard QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Thole QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Lytle Creek DiggingsLeadOccurrenceGalena
Lytle Creek DiggingsLeadPast Producer
ProspectLeadOccurrenceGalena

Every working recorded in Dubuque County

Storms near this place

15 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bernard in 15 storm reports between 2006 and 2026: 7 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2010Thunderstorm WindBernard1 hurt, $25,000Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew a semi truck off the road at the intersection of Highway 151 and Sundown Rd or about 9 miles west southwest of the Dubuque, IA Regional Airport at 1052 pm April 5.
March 2017Tornado (EF0)Bernard$5,000This is a continuation of the tornado that moved in from Jackson County. Numerous trees suffered damage and outbuildings were destroyed. Roofs were torn off a hog confinement and a manufactured home.
March 2026HailBernard-The time of the hail was estimated using radar.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBernard-A public report of numerous trees down with the main road in town blocked by falling trees.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBernard-Many trees with trunks snapped at this location.
July 2025Tornado (EF1)Bernard-A 0.8 mile long EF-1 tornado with peak estimated wind speed of 95 mph caused damage to trees and a county road maintenance shed in Bernard. This tornado was surrounded by straight line wind damage with winds from 80 to 90 MPH.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBernard-Semi blown over with the driver trapped inside, just west of Bernard, Iowa. Farm |out-buildings down on multiple farms.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindBernard-A grain bin and detached garage destroyed.
June 2021Tornado (EF1)Bernard-A tornado developed just west of Garry Owen in northwest Jackson County, and moved northeast along an intermittent 3 mile path through farm fields, lifting east of Bernard in southern Dubuque County. The tornado caused tree damage, and extensive damage to outbuildings at 4 farmsteads. The tornado was rated EF1, with maximum winds estimated at 90 to 100 mph, and was on the ground for about 6 minutes. There were no injuries. Assistance provided by Dubuque and Jackson County Emergency Management is much appreciated.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindBernard-The emergency manager reported 4 trailers damaged for destroyed along with widespread tree damage. There was a 100 yard wide and 3/4 mile long path with|50-70 percent of trees blown down or snapped off.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindBernard-The emergency manager estimated 80 to 90 mph winds that caused widespread damage in town.
April 2006HailBernard-dime size hail on the Dubuque/Jackson line.
March 2026HailBernard-no account filed
March 2026HailBernard-no account filed
April 2007HailBernard-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dubuque County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Washington Mills2.7 miles15
Fillmore4.5 miles15
Bennettsville (historical)6.4 miles19
Pleasant Grove7.3 miles14
Zwingle7.7 miles19
Peosta9.6 miles15
Cascade9.7 miles12
Ballyclough9.9 miles20

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BernardAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1947854The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 454528. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.