It was a busy morning at the Station.  Just as our Executive Producer Nate got into work, the power went out.  It was just a partial outage in the downtown.  In fact only a third of the KWWL building was without power.  Unfortunately that part included our master control which sends out the programming.

Part of the newsroom had power, but then some computers started turning off, and before long, email and internet went down.

Here’s a look at the outside of the building when MidAmerican Energy was on scene to try to turn the power back on.

It’s amazing how much our newsroom relies on email and internet.

So of course being the internet director, I can’t do much if I can’t go online.  So I took this picture as I was leaving the station to go home and work.

At 10:27 a.m. MidAmerican Energy was able to get the power back on for KWWL. Which is a good thing for all the Olympic watchers!

But many people were still without power. At 10:30 a.m., 123 customers are still without power in the Waterloo area.

The power also created some traffic problems.  Police had to direct traffic in parts on downtown Waterloo where the lights are out.

But by lunch hour, the traffic problems were over. And finally we were all able to get back to work!

-Jessica Mortvedt

Posted under Internet Director Posts

I promised behind the scenes information and video clips…so here you go:

On Thursday, John Wilmer did a story about what it’s like to be a gymnast, and the pressures they face.  If you didn’t see it, click here to read the story.

John got to have some fun with the story.  And now you can see more of him hanging out with the gymnasts in this clip.

Posted under Internet Director Posts

It’s been more than two months since an EF-5 tornado tore through the town of Parkersburg.

On May 25th, the tornado took eight lives, and destroyed half of the town. The Aplington-Parkersburg High School was also destroyed.

The football season will go on as scheduled.

On September 5th, KWWL will be broadcasting the Aplington-Parkersburg first home game LIVE from Parkersburg.

The pre-game show starts at 6:30 p.m.

Stay tuned to KWWL and KWWL.com for more details about the game!

Posted under Internet Director Posts, Parkersburg LIVE Football Game, Sports Coverage, What's Coming Up

It was a fun day at the fair, but ‘U Gotta Love It!’  That was this year’s theme. It was hot, but we found ways to cool off by going in the air-conditioned buildings.

In between postings, I hung out with my husband’s family at the fair.  You can see us at the end of the day as we are getting ready to go home.  We were sitting because we were so exhausted! 

If you want to read more about the fair, click here to go to the Iowa State Fair’s web site.

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts

It’s easy to tell why eating food on a stick is so popular at the fair.  You don’t need the usual utensils, so you can just dig right in!

You can tell what foods are the most popular, by how long the lines are.  The line to get a pork-chop-on-a-stick was quite long, so I knew it was a fair favorite. 

I’m told the Iowa Pork Producers are selling 7,000-8,500 pork chops a day! That is a lot of meat.

It was a fantastic meal.  Just spread on some BBQ sauce, and eat up.

But it’s not just the pork chops that people are waiting in line for!

The McCormick Family wanted to show just how easy (and fun) it is to eat at the fair without a fork or plate.

So have fun eating at the fair!

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts

I got a chance to meet the 2008 Iowa State Fair Queen.

Ashley Quade, 17, of Calhoun County was crowned the 2008 Iowa State Fair Queen.   Ashley was chosen out of the 102 contestants. 

In addition to a beautiful crown, Ashley won a $2,500 scholarship and $300 U.S. Savings Bond from the Iowa State Fair.

Madison Henderson, 18, of Davis County was named first runner-up.  Second runner-up was Kelley Jamison of Jones County. Mandy Maurer, 17, of Clay County was named third runner-up.

Kia Knutson, 19, of Winneshiek County was given the Outstanding Leadership Award.  Hillary Iverson, 16, of Poweshiek County, was given the Personality Plus Award.

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts

As a former reporter, I thought it was tough to carry around my own gear and shoot my own video.  I called myself a one-man-band.  But you know, I saw the real thing today.  This guy is talented.  He even has a microphone that helps him sing harmony in real time.

As soon as he started playing a crowd surrounded him. Thanks to all the people that let me up front for a few seconds, I was able to get a little video of him so you can see what I’m talking about.

I found him playing near all the food, (I know that’s not real descriptive.) near the Red Cross First Aid Station.

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts

A big attraction for kids of all ages is all the baby animals.  At the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center there were chicks, calves and piglets.  Kids get to learn about animals right after they are born, and even get to see baby chicks hatch.

These piglets were born today and are only a few hours old.  Born at 2-3 pounds, I learned today that by the time they reach six months, they will be 250 pounds.  Wow! This mama will have her hands full! 

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts

And you thought you were hot.  This is the biggest boar ever at the Iowa State Fair.  He weighs in at a whopping 1259 pounds!  His name is Freight Train, which is a great name since he is hauling tons of weight. 

Lots of people stopped by to pay their respects to this Webster City fellow. 

I’m glad I’m not in charge of moving this big guy to and from his pen.  I bet that is a sight to see!

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts

Move over Fair Queen and King, the men are hiking up their shorts to compete in a nice legs contest! So get ready to whistle, this is quite a show.

Many people watched as the men competed in this high stakes contest.  The categories were whitest, hairiest, and most athletic.

It was fun to watch as the guys really strutted their stuff.  They pulled their leg hair and highlighted the paleness of their legs.  It’s one of those kind of shows that is really fun to see.

Posted under 2008 Iowa State Fair, Internet Director Posts