Man hurt in stabbing at Cedar Rapids bonfire

A man was stabbed when a fight broke out at a bonfire in Cedar Rapids early Wednesday, police said.

Officers responded around 3:20 a.m. to 909 10th Ave. SW and found Heath Varner, 27, of Cedar Rapids, with a serious stab wound to his left side. He had been at a bonfire behind the house when a fight broke out between him and another man, witnesses said.

A short time later, police arrested Joseph L. Ward, 32, of Cedar Rapids, on suspicion of willful injury and public intoxication. According to the police report, he pulled a knife during the fight with Varner.

Varner was taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital, where information about his condition was not immediately available.

Ward was taken to the Linn County Jail and was scheduled to have his initial court appearance Wednesday morning.