This is a story I did for Fentanyl Awareness Day. This really was a complete and holistic look at the fentanyl issue. I looked at the growing threat, what is being done to try and stop it and the grieving families fentanyl has left behind.
State lawmakers increase penalties for those responsible for fentanyl deaths
I talked to the same family again for a day-turn story I put together in February 2024 about a bill at the State Capitol that would increase the penalties for fentanyl deaths. I needed their perspective to humanize the story. I have spent a lot of time covering political stories at the state capitol and talking about bills working through the legislature. When I can, I try to take them outside the walls of the state capitol and find the people affected by the story, like in this case, the Bowers family and Sheriff Thompson.
This was the result of a month-long investigation I did one year after heavy rains caused flooding and sewage backup into the basements of several homes in one Waterloo neighborhood. Some had more than a foot of raw sewage in their homes. I convinced two residents to go on camera and discuss the issues they had in their homes and got the city to discuss the steps they were taking to ensure something similar did not happen again. I am proud of this one because it was complicated, but the story presented it all in an engaging and understandable way for the average viewer.
Remembering Fallen Iowa State Patrol Segreant Jim Smith
This was a day-turn general assignment story I did in April 2021. This was the day after an Iowa State Trooper was shot and killed during a standoff. Hundreds lined streets and highway overpasses to offer a final salute as Sergeant Jim Smith's body was escorted home from the state medical examiner's office.
I was able to find people along the route who knew Sgt. Smith. They were able to humanize Sgt. Smith and offer a window into who he was as a State Trooper, heroic servant and a person. This is my story on how those who knew him honored and remembered Sgt. Smith.
As the primary political reporter for KWWL, I spent a lot of time on the campaign trail covering the 2024 Iowa Caucuses. I attended and reported on events held by just about every candidate in the race who held stops in the viewing area. I covered several rallies that Former President Donald Trump held to energize his voters ahead of the Iowa Caucuses. This is the story from a rally in Coralville in December. I am proud of how it came out and how we mixed the Former President's speech and interviews with his supporters in line before the event.
Healthcare workers share their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in their own words
November 2020 was the worst month of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa. We had the largest number of cases, the most hospitalizations, and, sadly, the most deaths as the virus ravaged communities across the state. For ICU nurses and those on the front lines, it was devastating. I interviewed several doctors and nurses about the challenges they were facing with resources and staff stretched thin and how, after ten months, they were mentally and physically exhausted. I quickly realized that my words couldn't do their story justice, but theirs could. So, I let the healthcare workers describe their experience on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 in their own words.
Ridgeway cleans up from overnight storms
We were dispatched to the city of Ridgeway, where we met residents cleaning up the damage from a line of strong to severe storms that brought heavy wind, rain and hail. The storm flipped over trailers, and destroyed sheds and barns.
For a couple of reasons, this was a relatively challenging series of stories for me to put together. In the last eight or nine years, 12 Hudson Community School District teachers have been diagnosed with breast cancer, leaving some of them wondering if there was a connection. I followed them throughout their search for answers. An investigation found "no statistical breast cancer cluster in Hudson schools" but did not "definitively rule one out." I kept in touch with one of the survivors, Diane. Her cancer experience inspired her to start a foundation to help others going through cancer, something I highlighted in a follow-up story in December.
In February 2022, I had the chance to interview NASA astronaut Raja Chari while he lived and worked 250 miles above Earth on the International Space Station. Chari grew up in the KWWL viewing area. I spoke with Chari about his Eastern Iowa roots, life in space and the future of space travel.
As winter dragged on and we continued to do stories about roads covered in snow and ice, the winter storm coverage can get repetitive as the same angles are hit on. I wanted to find something new that we hadn't done before. After a wintry mix brought snow, sleet and freezing rain, I rode along with a Sheriff's Deputy while they patrolled the slick roads. I liked how this story came out visually and the interactive live shot off the top to show viewers how difficult and dangerous the ice is.
Covering Tragedy
Perry High School Shooting - January 2024
Monticello Fareway Shooting- November 2023
Covering the Iowa Hawkeyes: Decades and centuries old football tailgates, Iowa Women's Basketball Team
Save the Swim Team
In August 2020, the University of Iowa Athletics Department cut several sports, including swimming and diving, because of an estimated financial deficit of $75 million brought on by the COVID pandemic. Swimmers fought back and filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the University of committing Title IX violations. I did several stories on this and followed this story every step of the way. This is the last story after the female athletes reached a settlement agreement with the university.
Auctioning off a prized car collection
