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Thunderstorms in the morning will give way to partly cloudy skies late. High 87F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 76F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

Lynne Gilmore, president of the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, and Kurt Dannenberg, mayor of Gera, Germany, hold Rotarian flags they’ve exchanged from their cities.

Gera, Germany, is a community of 93,500 residents.

A view of Gera, Germany.

Gera, Germany, has a mix of urban and countryside living.

Gera has Olympians and some are strong in cycling.

A library in Gera, Germany.

The Gera town hall is seen.

Lynne Gilmore, president of the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, and Kurt Dannenberg, mayor of Gera, Germany, hold Rotarian flags they’ve exchanged from their cities.

Gera, Germany, is a community of 93,500 residents.

A view of Gera, Germany.

Gera, Germany, has a mix of urban and countryside living.

Gera has Olympians and some are strong in cycling.

A library in Gera, Germany.

The Gera town hall is seen.

The mayor of Gera, Germany, celebrated June 6 the 30th anniversary of his city becoming a sister city of Fort Wayne.

Visiting with Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, Mayor Kurt Dannenberg, also a Rotarian, brought with him a contingent that included a Gera city council member and its police chief.

Gera covers 152 square kilometers, or 59 miles, and has 93,500 residents. Of that number, 1,150 are Ukrainians who have fled the invasion of their homeland by Russia.

The city, formerly in East Germany, has suffered economically since the 1990 reunification, Dannenberg said. It has lost 40,000 residents since then, leaving many empty apartments and houses that can be used for today’s refugees.

“We’ve lost so many people we hope the Ukrainians will stay and start companies,” Dannenberg said.

In the 1800s Gera was the third richest city in Gemany, Dannenberg said. In the 1900s it was one of the 10 richest.

“Now we’re called a poor city,” he said.

Last August, Emerson started a logistics center in Gera, bringing 1,500 jobs. The city has 38,200 jobs.

“We offer ideal urban and countryside living,” Dannenberg said.

has suffered economically since the breakup of the

Dannenberg, whose job is comparable to Fort Wayne’s deputy mayor, is responsible for the fire department and financial affairs and answers to the lord mayor.

Dannenberg, a lieutenant colonel in the German army who had two tours in Afghanistan,

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