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Deep Dive: Storm Lake (2021)

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Storm Lake
Storm Lake is a 2021 documentary directed by Jerry Risius and Beth Levison, focusing on The Storm Lake Times, a family-run newspaper in Storm Lake, Iowa. The film captures two years of the newspaper's operations and shows its role in the community, featuring interviews with political figures such as Jill Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Editors Art, Dolores, John, and Mary Cullen are also central to the narrative, illustrating the newspaper's commitment to local journalism. The documentary won the 2021 Audience Award for best feature at the AFI DOCS film festival and was nominated for a Peabody Award. It received an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 18 critics, with an average rating of 7.9/10. Critics have noted the film's emphasis on the importance of community-based news gathering, especially in a time when media credibility is questioned.

Why Watch

  • •Meet local journalists at The Storm Lake Times.
  • •See interviews with Jill Biden and Bernie Sanders.
  • •Find out why community news matters today.

Did You Know

•The film won the 2021 Audience Award at AFI DOCS film festival.
•It features interviews with nine political figures including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
•Storm Lake Times editors include four members of the Cullen family.
•The film has an 89% approval rating based on 18 critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Perfect For

Local journalism enthusiastsPolitical documentary fansIowa residents