��vlog at 70: Eric Hanson revisits devastating floods of 1993

��vlog FIRST CAME TO AIR, AND ALL MONTH LONG WE’RE CELEBRATING THE DECADES THAT HELPED MOLD US AS IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. THE 1990S WERE A GROUNDBREAKING TIME IN THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY, ESPECIALLY WITH HOW IT ENHANCED BROADCAST TELEVISION. ��vlog ERIC HANSON IS TAKING US BACK IN TIME AT WITH TO BE A. IT’S 6:00 AS THE 1990S BEGAN, ��vlog FOCUSED ON THE IOWA SPIRIT. IOWA’S SPIRIT ON TV. CARNEY MCBIRNEY WASN’T JUST LEADING THE WEATHER DEPARTMENT BY TOMORROW WITH SUNSHINE, MOST OF OUR HIGHS IN THE 50S WENT FROM THE WEST AT ABOUT 10 TO 20. SHE WAS LEADING ��vlog GIFT TO TOWNS ACROSS IOWA. CARNEY MCBIRNEY LIVE VIA NEWS-STAR EIGHT IN CORYDON WITH ANOTHER PROJECT MAIN STREET WINNER. WELL, WE’RE IN THE THEATER ON THE SQUARE AND YOU MIGHT WONDER WHAT. OH MAYBE NOT. HALF OF CORYDON, BUT CERTAINLY A GOOD PART OF IT IS DOING INSIDE THE WHOLE TOWN WOULD SHOW UP IN ��vlog. PAINTERS CAPS WHEN PROJECT COMMUNITY GRANTS HELP BUILD GAZEBOS OR UPDATE MAIN STREET. BUT IT ALSO SHOWCASED ��vlog NEW STAR EIGHT SATELLITE, A TRUCK THAT ALLOWED REPORTERS TO TAKE ��vlog VIEWERS LIVE ANYWHERE IN AMERICA. SHOW. WELL, KEVIN, THE PEOPLE CONTINUE TO POUR IN HERE TO TIGER STADIUM IN DETROIT. TECHNOLOGY WAS CHANGING EVERYTHING, EVEN MARY BRUBAKER’S LIFESTYLE INTERVIEWS. THE TECHNOLOGY BECAME AVAILABLE ABOUT A YEAR AGO. LOOK AT THAT COUCH CHANGING BY MAGIC. YOU KNOW, THE UPHOLSTERERS WISH IT HAPPENED THIS FAST. OH, YES. BUT ��vlog COMMITMENT TO IOWA STAYED STRONG. LIVE FROM MERLE HAY MALL. IT’S THE JERRY LEWIS LABOR DAY TELETHON. ROUND THE CLOCK FUNDRAISERS AND PHONE BANKS BATTLED MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY EACH SEPTEMBER. ON BEHALF OF THE DES MOINES FIREFIGHTERS, WE HAVE A CHECK HERE FOR $3,000. AND EACH SUMMER, IOWANS WALKED INTO ��vlog STUDIOS TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES FOR BLOOD DONOR DAY. I MEAN, I DON’T KNOW WHO IT WILL GO TO, BUT IT’S A GREAT FEELING THAT IT COULD HELP SOMEBODY IN THE NEWSROOM. TYPEWRITERS WERE ON THE WAY OUT WHILE NEW FACES WALKED IN. FORECAST FOR THE STATE OF IOWA FOR TODAY. MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES, NOT QUITE AS NICE AS IT LOOKS OUT THERE. WHEN STEVE KARLIN WAS HIRED TO FORECAST WEEKEND WEATHER, HE FELT THE STATION’S STRENGTH ON DAY ONE. AND I LOOK AROUND THE ROOM AND THERE’S PAUL RHODES, THERE’S DAVE BUZEK, THERE’S KEVIN COONEY, THERE’S PETE TAYLOR, THERE’S CONNIE MCBIRNEY THERE. I MEAN, ALL OF THESE LEGENDS, IT’S LIKE WALKING INTO THE LOCKER ROOM OF THE, YOU KNOW, 1927 YANKEE GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME. BUT IN 1993, THE LINEUP CHANGED. NOW, AFTER 37 YEARS AND SOME 8000 BROADCASTS, PAUL RHODES ANCHORED THE 6:00 NEWS FROM THE STATION’S VERY FIRST DAY UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT JUST MONTHS BEFORE. ONE OF THE MOST MASSIVE STORIES IN STATION HISTORY LET LOOSE IN JULY, ABOUT 6:00, A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS REACHED ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE STATE, ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE LINES I’VE EVER SEEN. BUT BETWEEN THE TIME IT BEGAN AND THE TIME IT ALL ENDED. ABOUT 7 TO 8IN OF RAIN HAD FALLEN WITHIN A VERY SMALL 4 TO 6 COUNTY AREA. IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH ON AN ALREADY SOAKED STATE. KEVIN COONEY WAS AT AN EVENT WITH THE GOVERNOR WHEN HE REALIZED HOW BAD IT WAS GETTING. MOLLIE AND I LOADED UP MR. AND MRS. BRANSTAD INTO THE MINIVAN AND CLEARED OUT THE CHEERIOS OFF THE FLOOR AND DROVE UP THE STREET TO THE STATION, AND WE HAD THE GOVERNOR ON THAT NIGHT AT 10:00. WE’RE STILL IN THE MIDST OF A VERY BIG DISASTER HERE. AND THAT NIGHT EVERYTHING FELL APART TO SET THE SCENE FOR YOU. IT IS A RACE AGAINST TIME DOWN HERE FOR THE BUSINESSES ALONG COURT AVENUE. LEVEES COULDN’T HOLD BACK ALL THE WATER. WITHIN DAYS IT GOT WORSE. ABOUT 330 THIS MORNING WE ENDED UP LOSING THE BATTLE OF KEEPING THE RACCOON RIVER OUT OF THE TREATMENT PLANT. L.D. MCMULLEN WAS ON TV SO MUCH HE EARNED THE NICKNAME THE FLOOD STUD. ��vlog WAS ON THE AIR AROUND THE CLOCK I STARTED, I DON’T REMEMBER, MAYBE 6 OR 7:00 IN THE MORNING. DID NOT TAKE A BREAK UNTIL FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON. THEY SPOKE IN MY EAR. THROW IT TO TODD MAGEL. I SHOULD SAY THAT IN MY TEN YEARS OF REPORTING FOR TVA NEWS, I DON’T THINK WE EVER COVERED A DISASTER OF THIS MAGNITUDE. THE FLOODS OF 93 WAS A STORY THAT YOU COULDN’T GO HOME FROM, BECAUSE WE WERE LIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, SO WE HAD TO COME TO WORK. MAYBE WE DIDN’T GET A SHOWER BECAUSE WE DIDN’T HAVE WATER. AND CERTAINLY AS SOON AS WE GET THAT INFORMATION, WE’LL GET THAT OFF TO YOU. THAT’S PROBABLY THE HARDEST I EVER WORKED IN MY LIFE, BECAUSE THE RULE KIND OF WAS COME IN AS EARLY AS YOU CAN STAND IT AND STAY AS LATE AS YOU CAN STAND IT. AND BECAUSE WE’RE GOING TO NEED YOU BECAUSE IN A CITY WITH NO DRINKING WATER AND RIVERS SWALLOWING UP NEIGHBORHOODS, REPORTERS HAD TO JUMP IN A HELICOPTER TO GET VIDEO. FOLLOW NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS. YOU SEE ALL THE VOLUNTEERS HERE. IT’S GOT TO BE A PRETTY IMPRESSIVE SIGHT. OH IT’S AWESOME. AND EVEN INTERVIEW THE PRESIDENT. WE DID STORIES FROM MORNING UNTIL NIGHT AND WE WERE LIVE HOUR AFTER HOUR. AND YOU JUST FELT SORT OF PROUD THAT YOU COULD HELP PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE, EVEN IN THE BATHROOM, TO SHOW HOW TO FLUSH THE TOILET, YOU CAN USE JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER TO USE THAT IN YOUR TOILET. IF IT’S YELLOW, LET IT MELLOW. IF IT’S BROWN, FLUSH IT DOWN AND THAT IS AS CRUDE AS IT MAY SEEM. WAS KIND OF THE MANTRA FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR A LONG TIME. EVERYBODY PULLED TOGETHER, EVERYBODY. NOBODY COMPLAINED ABOUT DOING THIS OR THAT. IT WAS FASCINATING. WE KNEW IT WAS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME STORY. WE HELPED AND WE HELPED A GREAT DEAL, AND EVERYBODY WAS WATCHING. EVERYBODY WAS WATCHING. BUT THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT THE COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHER. EVERYBODY WAS SO NICE. NOBODY WAS HONKING. I REMEMBER NETWORK REPORTERS CAME IN SAYING, THERE’S NO CRIME. THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE LOOTING IN OTHER CITIES. BUT HERE EVERYBODY WAS HELPING EACH OTHER BECAUSE WE WERE ALL IN IT TOGETHER. A MASSIVE EFFORT DURING A DECADE OF CHANGE LEADING UP TO Y2K AND HIGH DEFINITION ERIC HANSON ��vlog EIGHT NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THIS STATION’S AMAZING HISTORY ��vlog 70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CONTINUES NEXT WEEK. MAKE SURE TO TUNE IN TUESDAY AS WE WELCOME BACK FORMER ��vlog SPORTS DIRECTOR ANDY GARMAN. HE’LL SHARE WHAT IT WAS LIKE BRINGING VIEWERS DIRECTLY TO THE SIDELINES OF SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABL

Updated: 3:52 PM CDT Jul 21, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

��vlog at 70: Eric Hanson revisits devastating floods of 1993

Updated: 3:52 PM CDT Jul 21, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

As the 1990s began, ��vlog focused on the Iowa Spirit with a series of promotional campaigns. Connie McBurney wasn’t just leading the weather department, she was leading ��vlog’s gift to towns across Iowa.The whole town would show up in ��vlog painters camps when Project Community grants helped build gazebos or update Main Street. But it also showcased ��vlog’s Newstar 8 satellite, a truck that allowed reporters to take ��vlog viewers live, anywhere in America.Technology was changing everything, even Mary Brubaker’s lifestyle interviews.Through those changes, ��vlog’s commitment to Iowa stayed strong. Around-the-clock fundraisers and phone banks battled Muscular Dystrophy each September during the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. And each summer, Iowans walked into the studio to roll up their sleeves for ��vlog’s Blood Donor Day.In the newsroom, typewriters were on the way out while new faces walked in.Steve Karlin was hired to forecast weekend weather and felt the station’s strength on his first day. He said, “I look around the room and there's Paul Rhoades. There's Dave Busiek. There's Kevin Cooney. There's Pete Taylor. There's Connie McBurney. I mean, all of these legends. It's like walking into the locker room of the 1927 Yankee great team of all time.”But in 1993, the lineup changed. Paul Rhoades anchored the 6 p.m. news from the station’s very first day until his retirement, just months before one of the most massive stories in station history let loose in July.Weathercaster Connie McBurney said, “About 6 o'clock, a line of thunderstorms reached all across the state. … One of the most intense lines I'd ever seen. Between the time it began and the time it ended, 7-8 inches of rain had fallen within a very small 4-6 county area.”It was too much for an already-soaked state. Kevin Cooney was at an event with Gov. Terry Branstad when he realized how bad it was getting.“Mollie and I loaded Mr. and Mrs. Branstad into the minivan and cleared out the Cheerios off the floor and drove up the street to the station. And, we had the governor on that night at 10,” Cooney said. “And that night, everything fell apart.”In his live report at 2 p.m., he updated viewers, saying, “To set the scene for you, it is a race against time down here for the businesses along Court Avenue.”Levies couldn’t hold back all of the water. Within days, it got worse.Water Works CEO LD McMullen broke the news to ��vlog viewers, telling us, “About 3:30 this morning, we ended up losing the battle of keeping the Raccoon River out of the treatment plant.”He was on TV so much that he earned the nickname “The Flood Stud.”��vlog was on the air around the clock.Retired ��vlog anchor Mollie Cooney remembers, “I started, I don't remember, maybe 6 or 7 in the morning (and) did not take a break until 5 in the afternoon. They spoke in my ear, throw it to Todd Magel.”Live reports that day included the longtime reporter’s line, “I should say that in my 10 years of reporting for TV-8 news, I don't think I've ever covered a disaster of this magnitude.”He now remembers, “The floods in 93 were a story that you couldn't go home from because we were living in the middle of it. So we had to come to work. Maybe we didn't get a shower because we didn't have water.”Retired ��vlog anchor and reporter Steve Karlin remembers, “That's probably the hardest I ever worked in my life, because the rule kind of was, ‘come in as early as you can stand it and stay as late as you can stand it.’ And ‘because we're going to need you.’”Because in a city with no drinking water and rivers swallowing neighborhoods, reporters had to jump in a helicopter to get video, follow National Guard troops and even interview President Bill Clinton.“We did stories from morning until 9, and we were live hour after hour, and you just felt sort of proud that you could help people who had never experienced this before,” says Magel.Mollie Cooney adds, “Even in the bathroom, to show how to flush the toilet.”Kevin Cooney remembers the rhyme, “If it's yellow, let it mellow, or if it's brown, flush it down. And that is crude as it may seem, was kind of the mantra for a lot of people for a long time.”In the newsroom, Mollie proudly remembers, “Everybody pulled together. Everybody. Nobody complained about doing this or that. It was fascinating. We knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime story.”“We helped,” says Karlin. “We helped a great deal. And everybody was watching. Everybody was watching.”It was a point of civic pride. Mollie says, “The interesting thing is that the community came together. Everybody was so nice. Nobody was honking. I remember network reporters came in saying there's no crime. There would be people looting in other cities. But here everybody was helping each other because we were all in it together.”It was a massive effort during a decade of change leading up to Y2K and high definition.More coverage of ��vlog's 70th anniversaryWATCH: Former news director Dave Busiek rejoins ��vlog to talk about memorable storiesWATCH: Eric Hanson looks back at the very first days of Channel 8WATCH: Former anchor, reporter Mollie Cooney revisits story of Iowa's McCaughey septupletsWATCH: Eric Hanson looks back at Pope John Paul II's historic visit to IowaWATCH: Kevin Cooney recalls overseas trip to cover release of Terry Anderson, held hostage for 6 years in LebanonWATCH: Dana Cardin returns to put an 'Eye on Iowa' again

DES MOINES, Iowa —

The whole town would show up in ��vlog painters camps when Project Community grants helped build gazebos or update Main Street. But it also showcased ��vlog’s Newstar 8 satellite, a truck that allowed reporters to take ��vlog viewers live, anywhere in America.

Technology was changing everything, even Mary Brubaker’s lifestyle interviews.

Through those changes, ��vlog’s commitment to Iowa stayed strong. Around-the-clock fundraisers and phone banks battled Muscular Dystrophy each September during the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. And each summer, Iowans walked into the studio to roll up their sleeves for ��vlog’s Blood Donor Day.

In the newsroom, typewriters were on the way out while new faces walked in.

Steve Karlin was hired to forecast weekend weather and felt the station’s strength on his first day. He said, “I look around the room and there's Paul Rhoades. There's Dave Busiek. There's Kevin Cooney. There's Pete Taylor. There's Connie McBurney. I mean, all of these legends. It's like walking into the locker room of the 1927 Yankee great team of all time.”

But in 1993, the lineup changed. Paul Rhoades anchored the 6 p.m. news from the station’s very first day until his retirement, just months before one of the most massive stories in station history let loose in July.

Weathercaster Connie McBurney said, “About 6 o'clock, a line of thunderstorms reached all across the state. … One of the most intense lines I'd ever seen. Between the time it began and the time it ended, 7-8 inches of rain had fallen within a very small 4-6 county area.”

It was too much for an already-soaked state. Kevin Cooney was at an event with Gov. Terry Branstad when he realized how bad it was getting.

“Mollie and I loaded Mr. and Mrs. Branstad into the minivan and cleared out the Cheerios off the floor and drove up the street to the station. And, we had the governor on that night at 10,” Cooney said. “And that night, everything fell apart.”

In his live report at 2 p.m., he updated viewers, saying, “To set the scene for you, it is a race against time down here for the businesses along Court Avenue.”

Levies couldn’t hold back all of the water. Within days, it got worse.

Water Works CEO LD McMullen broke the news to ��vlog viewers, telling us, “About 3:30 this morning, we ended up losing the battle of keeping the Raccoon River out of the treatment plant.”

He was on TV so much that he earned the nickname “The Flood Stud.”

��vlog was on the air around the clock.

Retired ��vlog anchor Mollie Cooney remembers, “I started, I don't remember, maybe 6 or 7 in the morning (and) did not take a break until 5 in the afternoon. They spoke in my ear, throw it to Todd Magel.”

Live reports that day included the longtime reporter’s line, “I should say that in my 10 years of reporting for TV-8 news, I don't think I've ever covered a disaster of this magnitude.”

He now remembers, “The floods in 93 were a story that you couldn't go home from because we were living in the middle of it. So we had to come to work. Maybe we didn't get a shower because we didn't have water.”

Retired ��vlog anchor and reporter Steve Karlin remembers, “That's probably the hardest I ever worked in my life, because the rule kind of was, ‘come in as early as you can stand it and stay as late as you can stand it.’ And ‘because we're going to need you.’”

Because in a city with no drinking water and rivers swallowing neighborhoods, reporters had to jump in a helicopter to get video, follow National Guard troops and even interview President Bill Clinton.

“We did stories from morning until 9, and we were live hour after hour, and you just felt sort of proud that you could help people who had never experienced this before,” says Magel.

Mollie Cooney adds, “Even in the bathroom, to show how to flush the toilet.”

Kevin Cooney remembers the rhyme, “If it's yellow, let it mellow, or if it's brown, flush it down. And that is crude as it may seem, was kind of the mantra for a lot of people for a long time.”

In the newsroom, Mollie proudly remembers, “Everybody pulled together. Everybody. Nobody complained about doing this or that. It was fascinating. We knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime story.”

“We helped,” says Karlin. “We helped a great deal. And everybody was watching. Everybody was watching.”

It was a point of civic pride. Mollie says, “The interesting thing is that the community came together. Everybody was so nice. Nobody was honking. I remember network reporters came in saying there's no crime. There would be people looting in other cities. But here everybody was helping each other because we were all in it together.”

It was a massive effort during a decade of change leading up to Y2K and high definition.