Cedar Falls|News|
Weather Alert: Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County
You may want to cover your plants tonight.

Local Editor, Cedar Falls
Patch Email: alison.gowans@patch.com
Facebook.com/CedarFallsPatch
Twitter.com/CedarFallsPatch
Phone: 319-850-3474
I'm a born and raised resident of this town.
After graduating from Cedar Falls High School, I studied journalism and international studies at the University of Iowa and spent some time as a reporting intern at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. After a brief stint in Minneapolis, I took off for the Peace Corps.
Two years as a community health education volunteer in Swaziland, a tiny country in Southern Africa, broadened my horizons and my perspective. But I missed home - the green summers, vibrant fall leaves and the promise of spring after a long winter. (Not so much the winter itself.)
I missed the people of this place, family and friends and neighbors. It was time to come home, and what better way to reintegrate into my community than through Patch? So here I am, wondering what the next few years will bring.
Beliefs
At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.
Politics
The current acerbic political climate disheartens me. At this point I'm less concerned with parties and labels than with intent and ideas. If someone can convince me they have the country's best interests at heart and of the merit of their policies, they'll probably have my vote. I'm a registered Independent.
Religion
I believe in God. I'm still working out the details of what that belief entails and probably will be for the rest of my life.
You may want to cover your plants tonight.

VoterPalooza at the University of Northern Iowa featured student activism and encouraged students to vote.
Taylor Morris, a Navy explosives expert from Cedar Falls, is a quadruple amputee and hometown hero. Now the story of he and his girlfriend Danielle Kelly is going viral.
VoterPalooza will help UNI students register to vote, educate them about candidates and encourage students to make their voices heard in the upcoming elections.
The University of Northern Iowa has been selected by G.I. Jobs Magazine as a Military Friendly School for 2013.
Last April, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds—276 tons—of prescription drugs.
Dave Deibler said he wants Octopus to be a neighborhood bar.
What's going on around town this week? Here are some highlights, courtesy of the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau.
Russell Wasendorf Sr., the CEO of Peregrine Financial Group, will not yet be released from jail as he awaits sentencing.
The following information was provided by the police. It does not represent a conviction.
The following information was provided by the police. It does not represent a conviction.
Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz will be on the panel, which will discuss the current hot topic of voter ID laws.
The following information was provided by the police. It does not represent a conviction.
The accident happened Saturday night.
The following information is provided by the police. It does not represent a conviction.
Can you guess where this week's mystery photo was taken?
The following information was provided by the police. It does not represent a conviction.
Thursday was the two-month anniversary of the disappearance of Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 9.
A judge ruled Russell Wasendorf Sr. can be released after he pleas guilty on Monday.