The Iowa Floods.

Many people in the USA are aware of all the flooding going on in the Midwest. One of my really good friends is a musician and had posted a blog about the floods out there in Iowa (fortunately the town she lives in wasn't affected by the floods but there were many, many towns/cities that were).

Part of the reason of her posting is that she has a connection (even indirectly) to all theses artists/musicians who were affected by the flooding (affected as in the equipment/work spaces/etc damaged or destroyed by the ridiculously high waters). Even for those who had insurance, they didnt have flood insurance, b/c the water had NEVER come even remotely close to their houses/work spaces (the rains/floods were like what one would see every 500 years or so - that's way beyond any living memory!).

There's a way to help with the effort of establishing those directly affected out there. And any little thing is greatly appreciated.

Here's a copy/paste of what she had to say with all the links and good stuff to go along with it:

Flood Relief for Iowa Musicians and Artists

I just got an email from the Americana duo Truckstop Souvenir about the flooding in Cedar Rapids and other Iowa river towns, and what you can do to help out some of the musicians and artists who lost equipment and housing in the recent floods. As self employed people, artists often don't have insurance, and losing their equipment/workspaces is also losing their means to livelihood. Not to mention, with these historical high waters, many people who DO have insurance don't have insurance that covers flood because water has just plain NEVER come anywhere near their houses before. Anything you could give would help and be much appreciated.

Lauryn and Dennis also happen to live across the street from me (and fellow DJs on KRUU!), so pretty much everything they say about the weather experience these days goes for me too. They played today at our local Farmer's Market, and donated all their tips to the Iowa Artist Relief Fund. It's a beautiful sunny Saturday, here's hoping it stays clear for the next weeks and the waters continue to recede.

Here's the message from Lauryn and Dennis. (And there's a link to go check out their music at the end, which you should, because they are AWESOME):


Hey y'all. It's been a long, long time since we sent out an email to our entire mailing list, but we've gotten some emails from folks worried about how the weather in Iowa has affected us. We wanted to assure everyone that we are safe and dry here (relatively speaking),as there are no rivers running through our town. The county has experienced some minor flooding, but nothing like the devastation Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and other river towns in the Midwest have experienced.

We just learned about a fund for Iowa artists and musicians affected by the floods. The Iowa Artist Relief Fund has been set up through the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and the Legion Arts to assist artists who have lost equipment, portfolios, tools, studios, housing and more. If you have a little spare change to help these folks out, you can donate via the Legion Arts website:

http://www.legionarts.org/

Every little bit helps and on behalf of our fellow artists and musicians, we greatly appreciate anything you can give!

Thanks for all the continued support. We'll be in touch as we get closer to that second album we keep talking about ... the finish line is in sight!

All the best,
Lauryn and Dennis

http:///www.truckstopsouvenir.com
http://www.myspace.com/truckstopsouvenir
http://www.legionarts.org