For anyone who has lived in the Wabash Valley their entire life, like myself, the name Dana Winklepleck has become synonymous with WTWO News. Back in high school, I had a momentary spurt of tenacity and took the initiative to job shadow at Channel 2 and Ms.
A Day in the Life of a Morning Anchor
As the morning anchor for WTWO, Ms. Winklepleck has an extremely early start to an extremely busy week. She usually arrives at the station by 4:45 am for the morning broadcast(And I thought 8 am’s were unbearable!!). From that point, she goes over scripts and polishes them to make it sound natural and like her own words. Then she moves into hair and make-up for touch ups. The morning show is live from 5:30-7 am. There are also cut-ins during the Today Show at around 8:25 and 10:26 which are pre-recorded segments. But the day doesn’t end there. there, she begins producing the noon show. There is a 9 am morning news meeting in preparation for the midday newscast. After the show, she finishes the day writing for other shows or her shows for the next day. While her day may start early, it ends early too. She is done by about 1-2 pm and is in bed by 9pm! Ms.
Memorable Stories and Community Connection
One of Ms. Winklepleck’s favorite stories that she has ever covered, entitled the Gift of Hearing, was a recent one about a woman who had been deaf for most of her life. She had cochlear implant surgery and was able to hear her children speak for the first time. Ms.
Staying Informed and the Importance of Writing
Ms. Winklepleck said that reading was the number one way that she keeps on top of things. Also, she explores all kinds of avenues like reading what’s going on online, newspapers, and just being in tune to what is going on in the community. Ms. Winklepleck explained that she wished she would have known the value of internships. A student at Indiana University, Ms. Winklepleck interned at WTWO and never left. She stressed the importance of getting hands on experience and how vital it is to make a resume tape. Nowadays, companies are looking for a good resume reel which shows what kind of work that you are capable of doing. She also explained that being friendly and willing to do whatever is asked of you is key in winning the job. Learning as many jobs as possible and being proficient in many fields will also be an asset, according to Ms. Winklepleck. She shared that during her tenure, she has help every job in the newsroom but two. When asked how important writing is when it comes to broadcasting, Ms. Winklepleck responded without a beat stressing that writing is THE most important thing in the broadcast journalism field. When writing stories for air one must be clear and concise. People who are just starting out tend to write stories that are too long or too short. My favorite words of encouragement that Ms.
The Vincennes University Case and the Role of Local News
The vincennes university community was in a state of shock. had been killed in her off-campus house, raped and then stabbed multiple times. stab wound to the breast that went through the breast, and there was 11 stab wounds to the back. that's a lot. it was a lot of stab wounds. did that suggest-- did that tell you anything? it could mean a lot of things. i mean, certainly, it could mean that somebody was angry with that person. The house was cluttered, so it was difficult for detectives to tell if anything was out of place. were there any signs of forced entry? no, there were no signs of forced entry. no. But the bathtub was filled with wet towels, which was strange. Detectives also found the kitchen sink full of water and other things. a dishwashing soap bottle in the water, and there were knives in the water, pair of scissors. Possible murder weapons were sent off for dna testing, along with swabs from brook's body. Police canvassed the neighborhood, but found no witnesses. News about the murder traveled fast, and reporters descended on vincennes. Dana Winklepleck, an anchor with nbc affiliate wtwo in terre haute, indiana, was one of the first to arrive. Dana Winklepleck: i'd only been a reporter at that time for two years. and so that was the first murder i'd ever covered in vincennes. so it was surprising to me that it had happened. Almost immediately, leads started to pour in. and chief deputy prosecuting attorney hal johnston joined the detectives to help sort through them all. the difficulty is you can't glean at that point what's valid and what's invalid. you have to just start taking interviews from people. To organize the information that was coming in, investigators began constructing a timeline of brook's last day. but even as they put it together, they realized their task wouldn't be quick or easy. i mean, just a lot of interviews and a lot of people to talk to. and off-campus parties. At 3:00 pm, she'd met with someone she'd just befriended that semester. his name was steve hoffman. The two hung out for a few hours, then walked to a subway shop to grab a sandwich before going their separate ways. At 7:00 that night, another friend, biff elliott, from the journalism program, came by brook's house to walk her to a concert. he worked on "the trailblazer" with us. they were going to cover that for the paper. By 9:00, the concert was over, and brook's work for the night was done. Biff dropped her off at a party on second street, not far from her house. it would amaze me how she would try to be friends with everybody. she didn't have, like, a clique or a type. she just had a very contagious personality. you just wanted to be around her. At the party, brook met up with a guy she knew named tommy williams. he was one of several guys she liked at the time. how was the dating scene for brook at college? was she-- i don't think she was attached, but she had a lot of friends. brook and tommy went to another party thrown by university soccer players. so she must have really liked interacting with people. she loved people. At 12:30 am, they left the soccer party and headed toward brook's house. close to 1:00 am, they were spotted by a campus police officer passing the student union. it was the last time brook was seen alive. Detectives now had a list of several young men brook had interacted with that saturday afternoon and evening, people they needed to interview. yet the first person they decided to look at closely wasn't someone brook had been with, but someone who'd been watching her, someone being whispered about on campus. what kind of rumors were going around? well, about the campus police officer. The same campus police officer who saw brook with tommy that night was also brook's landlord, someone brook had complained about. she told me that he creeped her out. he would shine a flashlight in her window at night. he would be there in her house, saying he had the right to be there. that would be so scary. how freaked out was she by that? she never gave off any kind of like "i'm scared of--" she never gave off that vibe for anything. The landlord's name was mike nardine. and brook had also complained about him to her professors. she said one time she woke up from a nap that she had taken. he was sitting at the edge of her bed. and this is a campus police officer. police officer, mm-hmm. yes. did she mention if he had ever made a pass at her or wanted a relationship with her? i think she told me that he did suggest exchanging sex for rent. did she go and report it? i don't think she did. what are you thinking about this landlord when you're hearing this kind of information? and collect the dna. Detectives asked officer nardine to come down to the station and answer questions several times. detective bob dunham was with the vincennes police department. was he cooperative? if i had to try to describe what his manner was, he was cooperative, but very unhappy. he willingly gave you his dna? yes. he willingly took the polygraphs. did he pass or fail? they were considered inconclusive. Mike nardine looked suspicious, but he repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. And investigators had no evidence connecting him to brook's murder. However, they did have one ace up their sleeve. The results from brook's rape kit were in, and detectives believed that would be the key to identifying her killer. could it be the landlord? It was an uneasy autumn in vincennes, indiana. weeks had passed since the mur…
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The Iowa Bill and Transgender Rights: A Matter of Civil Liberties
This bill goes against the State motto of Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain. The hateful legislation targeting transgender Iowans must be halted. This is unconscionable. Removing civil rights from a marginalized community not even representative of more than 1% of the population will cause undo stress and harm. Do not advance this bill. Do not inflict harm on us. The majority partys lack of humanity is immeasurable. This is wrong and evil. Hello, my name is Meaghan Kochheiser. I'm originally from Waukee, currently residing in Des Moines, and I am asking you to oppose this bill. This bill could bar LGBTQIA people from access to banking, housing, and employment. Where do you think these people will go if it's legal to deny them jobs, housing, and more? They're not going to disappear. Trans people have always existed, and they will continue to exist. I remember growing up in Iowa, being proud of what a progressive, safe state we were. That has all changed and it makes me sick. Gone is the Iowa I was once proud of, now it festers and rots with hate. I ask you to please oppose HSB 583. Thank you for your time. My name is Izzy, I am a trans Iowan, and I am asking you to please reject HSB 242Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain. Does this sound familiar to you? It should because not only is it on our flag, it is our motto. Passing HSB 242 is a direct violation of this very motto. Liberties that are against basic human rights are no prize. This bill is baseless and unconstitutional, with no data or evidence of any kind to back it. Yet again, it is a written attempt to normalize hate for anyone that does not fit the norm. My name is Naoma Byrnes. Im a constituent from Des Moines, IA. I was born and raised in Ankeny and have lived in this state all my life. I am a proud lesbian and am in a loving relationship with my partner. This bill doesnt just affect transgender people it also affects people like us who are gender non conforming. In Arizona there has already been a case of a cisgender (or biological) woman who had the police called on her for simply attempting to use the womens restroom, just because she dresses in a more masculine manner. This bill doesnt protect women like me, it hurts us. Our state motto is our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain what are you doing to maintain womens liberties and rights? I for one dont want my taxpayer dollars funding senseless hatred. Jesus taught his disciples to love God and to love their neighbors, In both the gospel of Matthew (7:12) and the gospel of Luke (6:31), Jesus told them Do to others as you would have them do to you. In the gospel of Matthew (25:40), Jesus said Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.This bill legalizes discrimination against transgender Iowans. Legal discrimination against any class of people is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ and contrary to the promise of our great country. Every Iowan should have equal access to housing, employment, credit, education, and public accommodation.Transgender Iowans are members of my congregations and members of communities across the state of Iowa. They are your neighbors and my neighbors. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is unthinkable to remove civil rights and legal protections from people that we love. I am here to speak my mind on the injustice of this bill. A bill stripping Transgender Iowans of their civil rights is an embarrassment to this country, state, and the people within. Transgender people are your family members, neighbors, the people bagging your groceries, and brilliant scholars. We are not a threat to society. Our agenda is to simply live a happy and fulfilling life like everyone else. Many of you probably interact with trans people without ever knowing it. The bill introduced by Chairperson Holt would infringe on trans Iowan's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But that's the point isn't it? The only benefit this bill would provide is the ability for individuals like Chairperson Holt to punish trans people for existing by removing job and housing security, and allowing open discrimination. If this bill is passed, which group is next on the chopping block? Disabled people? Women? Blacks? I ask that you consider the implications that moving a bill like this forward would have, consider historical precedent. I leave you with a quote from Angela Davis "If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you at night". As a parent of an empathic and caring transgender son, I am outraged that you are actually advocating to take away my sons civil rights in your zealous campaign of hate. Hes hurt no one. Hes not affecting you or anyone else as he lives his life. I am a transgender business owner who does business in Iowa and Illinois. I am strongly opposed to HF 583. This bill is horrendous and I almost cannot believe it got this far. Everyone who votes yes to this bill (and this type of hate & bigotry) is contributing to discrimination. It's bills like THIS which prove we need gender identity as a protected class. When will it stop?Also, I find it amusing that your instructions list that "no hateful comments" should be posted while the legislature had been proposing all the hateful BILLS against transgender folks: taking away their options for medical decisions to be made, prohibiting them from playing little league, prohibiting them from using bathrooms, attempting to erase them from public. You CANNOT stop transgender people from being BORN. They've always been here and always will be here. I am a transgender Iowan in Mills County. This bill is completely scientifically inaccurate and needs to be thrown out. First, it states sex and gender are the same. They are not. Sex has to do with reproductive organs and gender is the outward appearance/habits of an individual. While sex is assigned at birth, if a person inherited the transgender attribute, which is a physical medical condition, they can change their sex through hormonal and surgical means and an outside observer will not be able to tell the difference between a person born sex and a fully transitioned individual. Furthermore, this legislation is attempting to take away civil rights from the 7100 Iowans who happen to be transgender. This is shameful. Iowa legislators should be concentrating on improving the lives of Iowans, not trying to harm them. Transgender Iowans are citizens of this state and must be protected with all equal rights under the law. Citizen Engagement declares IN FAVOR of HF 583. Thank you for bringing this bill. On June of 2021 a 15 year old girl, who identified as a boy, showed up topless at the Pella public pool. The community was shocked and outraged. After seeking help from the Pella City Council, they proceeded to tell us that no further action will be taken as the Gender Identity law would lead to litigation. Two weeks later an adult couple from Des Moines attended the pool. The man wore a bikini bottom with a poorly covered scrotum and the woman wore a bottom but was topless with tape covering her nipples. Several lifeguards, ages 1522, were extremely concerned. A supervisor resigned from the pool after being there 30 years. Younger concession workers quit. Ten employees were told theyd lose their job if they quit. They decided to resign. Anyone who resigned was red flagged which prevented them from ever obtaining a city job. Thousands of dollars of city revenue has been lost because of this as private pools are now being utilized as parents want their children to be able to feel safe from unnatural exposure.We have garnered signatures from thousands of people across Iowa who want their legislators to strike Gender Identity out of the civil rights code. As a member of a Republican Central Committee, I would also like to point out that Plank #1 under the Liberty section in the 2024 District Republican Party Platform calls for this repeal as well!There is no better time to get this done and Republicans and parents across the state WILL be watching. We should not be the first state to remove a protected class. How have we gone from first to add gender identity as a protected class to first to remove it? If this the legacy we want for Iowa? Why are we focused on taking away rights instead of ensuring the safety of all Iowans? I am a Detransitioner and current high school student. This bill is not in the public interest. It's common sense, and moral, to protect those that are different and have been discriminated against historically. That's why gender identity was added to the Iowa Civil Rights bill in 2007. That reasoning remains sound today. Making it open season on transgender Iowans helps no one, especially not women, and hurts many. I have been told this by literally all of the women in my life. It is also directly counter to Iowa's motto: Our liberties we prize and our rights we shall maintain.As an American patriot, it's embarrassing to live in the first state of Union to consider removing civil rights from an entire class of people. It's also embarrassing to live in a state that is at odds with science. This legislation attempts to define language such as "male," "female," "man," and "woman" in ways that are scientifically simplistic and opposed to common use, which is a violation of the first amendment.As a transgender person myself, I have experienced gender dysphoria, which is a disorder that requires treatment. Through transition I have dealt with that dysphoria and am a generally happy and productive citizen, taxpayer, and member of society. I did not choose this myself. There is no medical treatment I can undertake to not be transgender. Accepting myself was the only way to reduce my suffering. Yet, my transness remains. It, in itself, is NOT a mental illness or a disability.It's 2024. We are better than this as Iowans and as Americans. It's time to get back to work to help every day Iowans afford food, housing, and medicine. It's time to help young Iowans get a quality education and good jobs so they don't leave the state. It's time to make sure that older Iowans have a retirement and safe nursing homes. A rare incident in Pella does NOT justify bigotry & discrimination to transgender folks. Did anyone in Pella get murdered at the pool? No, some patrons just couldn't stop staring and were so troubled that they couldn't stop staring. Do transgender folks get harassed, discriminated against, and MURDERED for just being themselves? Yes, it happens way too often. Laws should be based on truth, fact and reality. If we pass laws in this state that are based on feelings, delusions or lies we will have a society in chaos. For example, this week during the first hearings for this bill and many other times over the last 4 years we have seen the chaos caused in our capitol building by the people who oppose this legislation. They are disrespectful and lack self control. Their behavior in the Capitol is just one more reason to vote yes on this bill, and restore truth to the Iowa code. Currently Iowa law says gender identity is a protected class in the civil rights code. Federal civil rights code does not say this. 27 other states do not have this law either. This law passed in 2007 is errant, because according to our Creator and to the biology of humans, there are 2 genders aka sexes, and no gender identities. That is reality, truth and fact. That fictional term gender identity, is based on delusions of those who are struggling with their mental health about their identity. The most loving thing we can do for anyone, including those who are struggling with gender dysphoria, is to tell them the hard truth rather than an easy lie. Speaking and living the truth sets us free. Iowans have made it clear in the past few legislative sessions with the bills we have passed to protect women and girls in their sports, their locker rooms and bathrooms, in k12 classrooms, as well as public places like the pool they want truthful and common sense laws to protect our society. Having gender identity as a protected class in Iowa civil rights code, means that our biological daughters could have to share bath and locker rooms with biological boys and men, and compete against them in sports. It also has resulted in the state of Iowa paying for elective genital surgeries and artificial hormones for those who want to attempt to change their body to that of the opposite gender. Of note, there are just two of those gender options available when seeking sex change treatments. This bill will still protect the right of a person to identify however they choose, dress how they choose, and all of their other rights just the same as the rest of us are afforded. Over the last few years, Iowa has attempted a reasoned approach in response to the many problematic situations that have arisen from the consequence of including gender identity in the civil rights code. The legislature has passed bills to protect womens spaces in restrooms and sports, compelled speech regarding pronouns, gender surgery minors. I advocated for these bills after my own daughter experienced a biological male in the high school restroom. But in the end, all of these current and future laws are and will forever be in jeopardy of being struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court because gender identity is included in Iowa code. This approach is not working. It is eroding the protections of women and girls. Protections we have been promised for decades. The main concern from those in opposition to this bill is regarding housing and employment discrimination, yet 27 other states do not have these civil rights protections. This argument is a red herring. The rights of citizens with gender dysphoria will continue to be protected like the rights of ALL Americans through the US constitution, bill of rights, federal law, and Iowa constitution and Iowa law. But when the rights of women are inevitably in conflict with the rights of men with gender dysphoria, we must prioritize the rights of women and protect our girls. The real problem is that this law is not based on reality. Any law not rooted in objective truth is an unjust law. It is a law based on the ever changing whims of human desire. It is untenable, is at odds with the truth, and cannot stand. You can include gender identity in the civil rights code or you can include women, but you cant include both. To any Republican legislator against this bill or on the fence, I would like to remind you that removing gender identity from civil rights code is part of the Iowa Republican platform. I promise you this issue is not going away. Your vote will not go unnoticed. Please do not allow this hateful, unconstitutional bill to advance. As state representatives, your work is supposed to be to uphold the state motto, "Our liberties we prize; our rig…
The Legacy of Lanell
el what are you going to tell your daughter about lanell? that i named her after an amazing woman, a woman who believed in helping people, a woman who was hard working, and a woman who believed in human beings being better versions of themselves. and i hope my daughter can be that person as well. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching.
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