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RIO to premiere ‘Lessons Learned’ June 1 in Des Moines

May. 25, 2011 10:06 am
DES MOINES – Three years after a deadly tornado and floods that caused billions of dollars of damage across Iowa, “Lessons Learned: The Iowa Disasters of 2008” will premiere June 1 in Des Moines.
Between May 25 and Aug. 13, 2008, more than 85 of Iowa's 99 counties and 40,000 Iowans were impacted by record-setting floods, tornadoes and severe weather.
“Lessons Learned,” an hour-long documentary, features interviews with leaders from nine of those disaster-impacted communities, detailing local recovery efforts and lessons learned in the aftermath of the disasters.
The Rebuild Iowa Office, which has led the disaster recovery effort, invites the public to attend the premiere of “Lessons Learned: The Iowa Disasters of 2008,” at 5:45 p.m. June 1 at the State Historical Building, 600 East Locust St., Des Moines.
The evening begins with a 5 p.m. reception. The documentary will be introduced with brief comments by RIO Chief of Staff Emily Shields and Wartburg College's Dr. Jeff Stein, the R.J. McElroy Chair and Executive-in-Residence, as well as the Administrator of Archives of Iowa Broadcasting.
The documentary was produced by Wartburg Television in partnership with the RIO.
The documentary is more than a reminder of what happened, Juli Probasco-Sowers of RIO said. The agency hopes it will make community leaders thinks about what they can do before a disaster so they are better prepared to respond and recover.
“The leaders interviewed talk about what went right and what went wrong – they're pretty candid – and what needs to change,” she said.
One of the tasks given to the RIO at its inception in July of 2008 was capturing lessons learned from the 2008 statewide disaster recovery effort. This collaboration with Wartburg College is one piece of that effort, and one of the RIO's final projects prior to the office's sunset at the end of June, Probasco-Sowers said.
“This documentary is intended to provide direction for Iowa communities to help each better plan and prepare for major recovery efforts before disasters strike,” she said.
Wartburg College students Nate Vaughn and Ben Read interviewed people from Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Des Moines, Mason City, New Hartford, Oakville, Parkersburg and Waverly.
“They share vivid memories of the initial disaster events and response, and talk candidly about what they have learned during the last three years of recovery,” Probasco-Sowers said.
Among the Eastern Iowans interviewed were:
Cedar Rapids - Leslie Wright, United Way of East Central Iowa; Steve Schmitz, Linn Area long-Term Recovery Committee Director; Linda Langston, Linn County Board of Supervisors; and Gary Ficken, business owner who helped start the recovery business task force.
Coralville - Ellen Habel, assistant city administrator for Coralville.
Cedar Falls: May John Crews; City councilman Kamyar Enshayan and Ron Gaines, director of developmental services.