Former Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management Director and Warren County resident Joyce Flinn retired in January, ending 24 years in public service for the state and two years in the position of Director. Flinn tells KNIA News she was with the agency as they went through 9/11, the rise of cyber-security awareness, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The worst day for me was when we had community spread. Dr. Pedati (State of Iowa Medical Director and Epidemiologist) kept saying we know it will happen, we know it will happen, we are trying to prepare and do everything we could. But when that community spread was identified and things got very bad very quickly in both Iowa and across the country, it was kind of that September 11th feeling of the world will never be the same again.”

The full interview with Joyce Flinn will be featured on a future In Depth with Dr. Bob Leonard.