'Historic' Iowa Flooding Kills Former Sportscaster Of The Year

DES MOINES, IA — "Historic" rains caused flash flooding in central Iowa on Saturday night that killed a former Sportscaster Of The Year. Emergency officials told media outlets up to 8 inches of rain were dumped on some parts of Polk County over the span of just a few hours.

The National Weather Service on Sunday morning issued a flood warning for Polk County, southern Story County, western Jasper County and Dallas County until 9:15 p.m. Sunday. River flood warnings were issued for multiple locations across central and northern Iowa. A few isolated thunderstorms were possible Sunday morning but heavy rain and severe weather weren't expected.

A flood warning was in effect for all or parts of South Skunk River, Des Moines River, West Fork Des Moines River, Walnut Creek and Fourmile Creek in light of previous rainfall and possible future rains. Drivers who encounter flooded areas should turn around and find an alternate route.

"While water has receded in many areas from heavy rainfall of 3 to 8 inches last night, flooding continues primarily along small streams and creeks, including Walnut Creek and Four Mile Creek," the agency said. "There are still some roads under water, like Highway 17 near Granger."

Furthermore, some secondary roads in Story County were damaged from previous flash flooding. Overall, the flash flooding threat has fallen since heavy rains ended.

A.J. Mumm, director of emergency management in Polk County, called the rains “historic" in a briefing Sunday morning, The Gazette reported. He said it led to “fires, explosions and rescues of all types.”

Flash flood waters ended up killing Larry Cotlar, a 65-year-old veteran Des Moines sports radio personality and Drake University sports announcer, on Saturday, multiple media outlets reported.

Around 9 p.m. Saturday, police were called to a van filled with people that had stalled out on a washed-out street. Police didn't find anyone in the vehicle though. Hours later, fire crews found Cotlar's body several blocks away, the Des Moines Register reported.

According to his biography, Cotlar was the 2007 Iowa Sportscaster of the Year and has been a sports talk radio host since 1981.

Drake University confirmed Cotlar's death in a tweet.

"Drake University and the @DUBulldogs community offers its condolences to the family of Larry Cotlar, who passed away overnight during flooding in Des Moines. Cotlar was play-by-play announcer for @DrakeBulldogsMB since 2005-06 and analyst @DrakeBulldogsFB since 2013."

Below are some photos showing the devastation.

Some pics of Copper Creek in Pleasant Hill #cycling #bicycling #Iowa #flooding #trails #pictures #desmoinesflooding pic.twitter.com/FgJCwmzDTx
— Bike Life of IOWA (@iowa_bike) July 1, 2018

Flooding in Johnston Iowa. This was after about 2hrs of draining it was a lot worse before. Be safe, turn around, go somewhere high and dry. Oh and it is raining again.. pic.twitter.com/3ynJZtN7xd
— Mike Prophet (@BackPackJetz) July 1, 2018

Scenes from flooding Fourmile Creek this morning in Pleasant Hill. #FlashFlooding #pleasanthillia #iawx #iowa #DSMUSA
A post shared by Shane Church (@churchs19) on Jul 1, 2018 at 12:38pm PDT

Photo credit: Shutterstock