Save Iowa

A Flood Story: The Forgotten Iowa

Posted on 05. Jan, 2011 by admin.

0

Tracy Sefl is a Principal with Navigators Global, a bipartisan government relations and strategic communications firm, based in Washington, DC. More importantly, Tracy is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On her recent trip back to Iowa to see her family for the holidays, Tracy decided to investigate the effects of the flood of [...]

Continue Reading

The City of Ames inundated by Floodwaters

Posted on 11. Aug, 2010 by admin.

1

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in Ames early Wednesday after three to five inches of rain pushed Squaw Creek and Skunk River to break their banks. Sandbagging is underway, but water is already up to car windshields. Several buildings on the Iowa State University campus, such as Hilton Coliseum where the Cyclones [...]

Continue Reading

Construction on new City Hall in Palo, Iowa now under way

Posted on 21. May, 2010 by admin.

0

After almost two years, the city of Palo, Iowa has broken ground on a new community center and City Hall. The city was hit exceptionally hard by flooding in 2008. Reports indicate close to 400 homes were damaged by high water, causing almost $10 million dollars in total damage to city property.

Continue Reading

Iowa Governor Culver Announces New Disaster Assistance Programs

Posted on 13. Nov, 2009 by admin.

1

Governor Chet Culver today announced four new disaster assistance programs for small businesses and landlords impacted by the 2008 storms and floods, as well as improvements to the duplication of benefits policy for homeowners, at a press conference in Cedar Rapids.

Continue Reading

The Cedar Rapids City Hall Question

Posted on 20. Aug, 2009 by admin.

0

The city of Cedar Rapids is facing a tough question; should it rebuild the flood-damaged city hall or should it develop a new city hall from scratch?

It is a tougher question than most might think.

Continue Reading

CNN: Flood leaves boulevard of broken dreams

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by admin.

0

Doug Ward drives through a subdivision made up of rows of trailers. You can hear the sadness in his voice as he says, “This just doesn’t feel like home.” He longs for the life he lived before devastating floods destroyed his Cedar Rapids neighborhood.

“I want to come back. I miss (my friends) very much,” Ward said as he escorted CNN on a tour of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nearly a year after the floods.

Continue Reading

Cedar Rapids Flood Stories

Posted on 13. May, 2009 by admin.

2

The Flood of 2008 forever changed Cedar Rapids. When the Cedar River crested, it extended well beyond the 500-year floodplain and covered more than 10 square miles of the city. A year later, thousands of residents are still struggling to rebuild.

While Iowans are known for strength and resilience, the people of Cedar Rapids can only do so much on their own and are left behind by a federal disaster funding system that some say is broken. This is not the first national disaster, and it won’t be the last.