WINTERSET, Iowa — Movie theaters in Winterset and Greenfield say they are not planning on showing the movie “Twisters” this summer. KCCI in Des Moines reports the Iowa Theater in Winterset made the announcement Tuesday on Facebook. Manager Scott Smith said he watched the trailer and felt uncomfortable with what he saw.

On March 5, 2022, Iowa experienced one of the deadliest and most damaging tornado outbreaks the state had seen in years, including an EF4 tornado that touched down in Winterset. Smith said the images in the movie hit too close to home. He said many of the visuals looked too similar to what happened in Greenfield this spring. A deadly EF4 tornado tore through the town located 25 miles west of Winterset in May, killing four people and injuring dozens more.

Movie poster for “Twisters”

In a statement made to KCCI, the manager of the Grand Theater in Greenfield, Deb Lundy, said: “The Grand Theater had been planning to show the Twisters movie since the beginning of the year. When the tornado hit us, I called my movie broker and between the two of us we decided it was not the right time for us to show that movie.”

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowa home owners are seeing their insurance premiums rise and some companies are refusing to insure some properties altogether. Sonya Sellmeyer, a consumer advocacy officer in the Iowa Insurance Division, says there have been a series of rate increases since the derecho that hit Iowa in August of 2020.

“It just seems like ever since then we’ve just continued to get hit by storms. It costs a lot of money to repair that damage, for many different reasons — inflation, material costs have gone up,” Sellmeyer says. “The reinsurance that the companies themselves have has gone up for them.”

Reinsurance is basically insurance for insurance companies. Sellmeyer says Iowans facing a significant hike in homeowners insurance could consider a higher deductible — if it’s an amount they can afford. Sellmeyer is encouraging Iowans to have a discussion with their licensed insurance agent, to ensure their policy would cover the cost of replacing their home and its contents.

“You don’t want to be paying something, espeically as it becomes more expensive, that’s not going to give you what you really need to replace your home in case something would happen,” Sellmeyer says. “…And understand your riders that you have, too, on your policy or that you may need…Sump pump and sewer riders are very important.”

Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the U-S. There’s been a federal flood insurance program since the 1960s for property in a flood plain and a federal rule change in 2019 encouraged private companies to sell flood insurance policies. Sellmeyer says you can buy private flood insurance in Iowa even if your property is not in a flood plain. “I spent a weekend in Spencer, shortly after the flooding happened, with those survivors there and I strongly suggest all Iowans need to sit down with their insurance agent and see if this is something that they need,” Sellmeyer says.

According to the National Association of Realtors, home insurance premiums in the U-S are expected to rise about six percent by the end of the year.