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Iowans in Florida, Recovering from Hurricane Irma

Courtesy of Deanne and Ron Mirr
The mahogany tree that fell on the Mirr's home in Naples.

As of early today, the death toll from Hurricane Irma stood at 82. More than half the fatalities occurred in several hard-hit Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In Florida, 1.5 million homes and businesses remained without power yesterday, in sweltering heat, five days after the historic storm ripped through southeast U.S.

Residents who evacuated have been returning to their homes to survey the damage and start the process of recovering from this massive storm.

On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with Iowans currently in Florida working towards recovery efforts.

He also talks with comedian and author, Sara Benincasa, on destigmatizing mental illness.

She’ll be in Iowa next week to share her experience with mental illness, panic attacks, and college life during a talk at Iowa State University. Her talk "Help! You Need Somebody!" will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. 

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Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River