A number of cities across the state are planning events to mark the historic floods of June 2008. The small community of Palo, in northwest Linn County, will commemorate the anniversary by delivering plants to every home in town this Saturday.
Residents of Waterloo will also remember last year’s disaster on Saturday with a gathering at Lafayette Park. Juli Probasco-Sowers is a spokesperson for the Rebuild Iowa Office .
"They’re going to have a National Guard helicopter landing in the park sometime around 11 a.m.," Probasco-Sowers said. A noon program in the park will include comments from Lieutenant General Ron Dardis, executive director of the Rebuild Iowa Office. Saturday’s event in Waterloo will follow a morning parade that’s part of the annual "My Waterloo Days" celebration.
In Vinton, a film premiere will be part of the town’s recognition of the floods on June 6th. The video, titled "24:7; The Vinton Area Floods of 2008," was produced by Vinton resident Brian Larkin and former Vinton resident Kirk Monson. Probasco-Sowers says the film includes interviews with people affected by the flood, as well as city officials and emergency responders.
The 75-minute film will be shown at 2 p.m. at the Palace Theater in Vinton. Proceeds from the $8 admission fee will go to the Benton County Disaster Relief Coalition. Last June’s flooding damaged around 1,100 homes in Mason City and shut down the city’s water supply for a week. The city is planning a program and community picnic on June 7th.
Probasco-Sowers says the theme for Mason City’s event, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., is "River City Rises, Recovers and Remembers." Lieutenant General Dardis will deliver comments at 1 p.m. at the East Park Band Shell. City officials in Cedar Rapids are planning a three-day long " Healing the Heartland Festival " that will include music, food and other activities between June 12th and 14th.