One family will have a pretty good story to tell when they look back on Thursday’s blizzard. Iowa National Guard spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Greg Hapgood says the Marshalltown hospital called asking for help for a woman who was pregnant with twins who needed help.
Hapgood says the woman was apparently a high-risk pregnancy and she needed to be transported to Des Moines immediately. Hapgood says state officials assembled a convoy to transport the woman. Hapgood says the Emergency Management Division put together a group that included a DOT snowplow, two Humvees, a Humvee ambulance and a state troop escort that made the journey from Marshalltown to Des Moines.
Hapgood says the woman was doing fine when soldiers dropped her off, and it was a good mission for the soldiers. Hapgood says the members of the Iowa Guard, the Iowa State Patrol and the DOT just want to help Iowans in whatever way possible. Hapgood says the soldiers "just felt like a million" after the mission. No word on when the woman is due to deliver.
That wasn’t the only blizzard mission for the Iowa Guard, Hapgood says the guard had 50 highway assistance teams out in the storm. Hapgood says the guardmembers partner with the DOT and the Iowa State Patrol to rescue motorists who were stranded. He says there were "a tremendous amount" of motorists stranded on western I-80 and more than 80 people were rescued and taken to shelters.
Hapgood says it was tough work, but satisfying. Hapgood says it was a very rewarding day, but very dangerous as the visibility in western Iowa was almost zero as the assistance teams helped motorists.