What my camera wrote.

Hello!
For those of you who do not yet know, today (Friday) was my last day at The Daily Republic, I have accepted a position as Social Media Editor with the Sioux City Journal. My contact information will be laurawehde@gmail.com.

Today while on assignment covering the flooding in and around Wessington Springs,  I was able to think of a few of the most memorable assignments that I have shot in my past five years at the Daily.

1. Bill Clinton, George McGovern, Bob Dole and other dignitaries at the McGovern Library dedication. (and Bill Clinton again a couple years later)
2. President Obama outside the Corn Palace.
3. The Blizzard of 2006.
4. Five years worth of outstanding Corn Palace Festival concerts including Rick Springfield, Big n Rich, Leann Rimes and many more.
5. Sadly, my first fatal car accident, and each one since. Those – you do not forget.
6. A picturesque trip to the little known areas of the Badlands, Pine Ridge and beyond.
7. Anything in Carthage.
8. Various bouts of storm chasing.
9. Getting to go to quirky places in the 17-county area. Like the sculpture park near Montrose.
10. This one isn’t an assignment, but I will always remember the people. Thank you for letting me into your life, even briefly, to help tell your story.

And a story about my last day …

I did not know what to expect on my last day of work. Then again, I never really know what to expect and that is why I love my job. Today, as I mentioned above, I was sent to cover the extreme flooding up near Wessington Springs. On the way to Springs, I saw about 20 people standing on the side of the highway. As I got closer, I saw that what they were all staring at was Firesteel Creek, now a half-mile wide and washing huge logs and hay bales away in the current. At this location, I learned that the Rose Hill dam, near Wessington (25 miles north of Springs) had given out. After some photos and interviews, I made my way up to try to find the dam.
I got directions from a local, but he did not know street numbers so I ended up getting pretty close. I had to drive through a few spots with water over the road, but made it in fine. All totaled, it took me about 40 miles to drive 20 due to all the closed roads.
I got to Rose Hill and took more photos and did a couple interviews.
On the way back to the main road, the gas light in the company SUV dinged at me. I admit, I was a little turned around with not ever having been to the Wessington area. I asked where the next gas station was and to my dismay, the answer was "About 30 miles".
I tried to make it out the way I had come in, but that road had washed away. I tried to find several alternate routes to no avail, all while driving on fumes. I felt a lot like a hamster in a maze.
With the last of my cell phone battery, I called my editor to tell him of my predicament.
After many, many more dead ends and flooded roads, I began to stop at farms to see if I could purchase gasoline.
At the fifth farm I stopped at, Larry came to the door and said he could put gas in my car. I paid him for it and was able to make it back to Mitchell to help file a story and photos by 5 p.m.

Besides the running out of gas part, days like these made up a big part of my job and I will miss it. I wish to thank Larry, for his assistance on my last assignment.

I will pay it forward.

Best wishes to you all.

Laura Wehde

I was sent to Vivian today to talk to locals still reeling from Friday’s violent hail storm that ripped through the town damaging all 55 houses. Vivian Fire Chief Keith Patrick said it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured and after seeing the town – I believe him.

Lonis Wendt, of Vivian, stands outside the shattered windshield of his motor home. Besides the windshield, several holes were punched through the roof of the vehicle by the large hailstones.

An 8-inch divot is shown in the yard of Absolutely Pheasants. The National Weather Service reported that hail of this size can travel in excess of 150 mph; and could be deadly.

Vivian Fire Chief Keith Patrick sits in his shop Wednesday and recounts the story of being caught in the hail storm. Patrick was hit in the wrist by a hailstone that also shattered his windshield and, while trying to run into a building, was hit in the leg. Patrick equated the amount of pain from the leg injury to that of being ‘kicked by a cow’.

More Thursday on www.mitchellrepublic.com

Raise your hand if you have 100 mayflies on the window of your house. (Raises hand)

These little bugs, pictured below, can be seen on pretty much every surface of Mitchell.

Retired state entomologist Ben Kantack, of Brookings, said the insects are mostly harmless. They only live about eight hours, Kantack said, so it’s useless to spray for them.

Former Sen. George McGovern decided that for his 88th birthday, he would go skydiving. Here is a photo from his excursion taken by Michael R. Brown with Florida Today.

It is no secret around the office and even around Mitchell. I am afraid of heights. I always have been. For my 88th birthday I think a good game of cards followed by cake and ice cream would be more realistic than ever going skydiving, but you just never know.

Way to go Mr. McGovern!

I recently spent some time in Chicago for a wedding and made a short vacation out of it to visit friends and visit one of my favorite cities.

Here are some photos from that trip.

I love all of the buildings. This shows the track for the L, or elevated train that makes getting around Chicago a lot easier.

I love all the history and texture of the city. Also the patterns… I could spend a day taking photos of skyscrapers.

I am a HUGE fan of The Office. I was wandering around the Taste of Chicago food festival with a million other people and saw Darryl from The Office. I couldn’t think of his real name – but I snapped a photo when he was buying roasted sweet corn for his family.

Then I wandered up to the Cloud Gate sculpture, known as The Bean. The light flash you see in the reflection is me. In the subsequent frames, I turned off my flash.

More of The Bean. 

Fireworks over Lake Michigan.

The John Hancock Building. This building is 100 stories tall and from the top offers incredible views of the city. Note: if you are of age, you can bypass the $15 observation deck fee on the top floor and just go to the 96th floor Signature Lounge. They make you purchase at least one drink, but you save some money. Ladies, before you leave – visit the bathroom. The floor to ceiling window view of Navy Pier is awesome. 

Looking out over Lake Michigan.

A view of Lakeshore Drive.

Edamame.
(has nothing to do with Chicago, but it was good!)

On the way to the airport. 

Great vacation. Great city.

Today my centerpiece assignment was to travel along the Davison County roads to document the terrible shape that they are in. When I would come upon a bad spot in a road I would stop to get a photo of it and wait for a car or semi to drive by.

At several spots I waited for a few minutes, but no cars passed. Apparently the secret is out about these roads and alternate routes are being found. 

After a few tries, I got what I was looking for. I made sure to wave to the driver as he passed by as it probably looked strange that I was crouched in the ditch.

And as a bonus for my many miles traveled today, I found this…

An abandoned shed with a backdrop of puffy clouds, my favorite type of clouds to photograph.

Win win.

Yesterday, I was awoken by a call from my editor who was sending me to Woonsocket. All I knew is that there were 30 homes that were flooded by recent rains. It’s kind of hard to tell from this photo, but water is a few inches deep and flowing really fast over 397th Avenue that runs through the center of town.

On the east edge of town, a herd of cattle were being moved out of a flooded pasture. The cow and her calf shown here, however, had other plans. This photo was taken just after the pair had gone completely underwater after finding a deep spot in the flooded pasture. Once they made it to dry land, nearby National Guard soldiers helped the cows join their group.

Pvt. Brandon Reinhardt and other National Guard soldiers pile sandbags Thursday near Jo White’s home on the north edge of town.

Everywhere I looked yesterday, National Guard soldiers were sandbagging. It was awesome to see how organized their efforts were.

I hope that the water goes down so people can get their homes dried out. Rain rain go away.

My front page story, about grain entrapment, opened my eyes to just how dangerous working around grain bins can be. Having not grown up on a farm, it was interesting to be able to write this story. We ended up using an Associated Press photo for the center because it fit the story so well.

Pulaski/Tri-County firefighters work at cutting a hole into a grain elevator, Wednesday, June 16, 2010 in Zachow, Wis. An employee at Sorenson Grain fell into the bin Wednesday morning and was found four hours later when he was pronounced dead. (AP Photo/Shawano Leader, Cory Dellenbach)

One of the most interesting and scary parts of the story, I thought, was just how quickly grain entrapment can happen, truly within a matter of seconds a person can be trapped and unable to free themselves. I also reported that you do not have be covered in grain, to asphyxiate. If you are trapped up to your chest, when you deflate your lungs, the corn can sometimes fill in the space making it impossible to take another breath. 

Every expert and safety worker I spoke with said the same things: do not work alone, do not enter a grain bin if the auger is running and do NOT walk on a pile of grain because there could be a bridge, or false floor.

Please farmers and elevator workers, be safe!

Does anyone out there have a waterproof digital camera? I am looking to purchase one and would appreciate any feedback. I have wanted a waterproof camera ever since I bought my kayak two years ago.

I’ve had my eye on this one, from Canon. The Canon PowerShot D10. Waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof… a.k.a. WEHDE proof. ($250)

But this is also very cool, by Kodak. It shoots HD video and takes wide angle still shots. ($149)

Decisions decisions…

During my lunch break, I was sent out to a report of a kid hanging out in a raft in a flooded ditch. At the newspaper, we get "reports" of strange things all the time. I once went on a wild goose chase for a tree that looked like a deer, to no avail. But that is what keeps the job exciting!

Today however, luck was on my side. Nine-year-old Mitch Schladweiler, of Mitchell, was testing out his new inflatable lifeboat in a flooded ditch near his home. He was easy to find and waved to me as I pulled up. I introduced myself and asked if I could take his photo. An avid kayaker, I kind of wished I could trade places with him. He seemed pretty content paddling up and down the ditch.

Next time, however, I hope that he opts to wear a life jacket. (tsk tsk)

Stay dry!

-Laura