11/11/2025
I couldn't sleep.
On the final night of our 3 powerful days of filming this episode in Rock Valley, Iowa, I woke up in my hotel room at 2:30a... and I couldn't sleep.
I kept thinking about the people we'd met, all they had gone through, and their strength as a community.
So, at 2:30a, I started writing THIS (watch video) ⬇️
CONTEXT on the Episode's opening sequence...
Rock Valley is the Fastest Growing Small Town in Iowa, so we wanted to establish what makes this community so attractive (people, local business, manufacturing, the outdoors). Then, we used a slow "Fade To Black" to signify the everyday peaceful nature of this town.
It was then - in the middle of the night on June 22, 2024 - that this town was abruptly woken up to Tornado sirens (conveyed by the sirens & dark music).
We kept the screen black and utilized a couple of frantic voicemails to give the feel of what it was like that early morning: it was pitch black, so people were confused & scared.
When the light finally lifted later that morning people found their homes & businesses destroyed... and their lives changed forever.
What happens next, though, is the HEART of the episode because we see this flood will NOT define this community, but rather their spirit, strength, and resilience will.
