Into the flood waters

July 30, 2007 Katie Nieland, Grand Island Independent, Grand Island, Nebraska.

Grand Island had a 25-year flood Sunday - 5 inches of rain or so. I reached the office at about 1 p.m. (weekend reporters work 1 to 9 p.m.) and ran the list of people to call through my head.

The police department for damages, the National Weather Service in Hastings for the forecast and rain totals, the city's emergency management department and some of the businesses that were along the area hardest hit.

But I learned the best way to report on something like this is to put the phone down. Then walk away slowly. The weekend photographer ended up convincing me this was the way to go. I was worried I'd miss the call back from the police. After the photographer's speech about finding color in stories like these and worrying about the official stuff later, I drove out to the edge of the floodwaters and waded in to find this color. Don't worry, I keep flip flops in my car for just such an occasion.

While sloshing across the parking lot at an apartment complex, I quickly realized there was some dry land I could have walked over. But oh, well, I was already in up to my knees. I found a family pulling sopping wet boxes out of their garage.

Then a truck blew past and a sheet of water fell by us. The man I was interviewing got wet and he turned to the truck and waved his arms like "what the heck?" The truck shot backwards, splashed water again and the driver jumped out of his truck. There were various swear words exchanged.

Me: Oh God, please don't punch him! If he gets knocked out he'll drown!

After a few minutes of verbal abuse between the two men this very awkward reporter wrote down the man's license plate for her interviewee as the truck drove away and continued asking questions.

Hmm. Color.

Later on, my shoes were further trashed when I traveled to Hastings to cover a golf cart race for charity. In the mud. Which I had to get to by traveling across a field. In the mud. Good fun all around.

In the end, the best stories are not created with a phone, but with a little color.

 

Katie Nieland
My name is Katie Nieland and I'm a senior news-ed major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I'm interning at the Grand Island Independent this summer as a general assignment reporter. I've been at the Daily Nebraskan since fall 2004 and will return this fall as managing editor. Email Me, View All Katie's Entries