Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds still remembers the phone call telling her the country was under attack.
Speaking with reporters Thursday after the final stop of her legacy tour at Dean’s Classic Car Museum in Sioux Center, Reynolds reflected on that morning and the importance of remembering it.
Asked about the passage of 25 years, she recalled traveling to a meeting while serving as a county treasurer.
“That doesn’t even seem possible. I was actually a county treasurer at that point. And we were driving to Ames for a for a treasurers meeting. And I got the phone call that you’re not going to believe this, ‘our country is under attack.’ And it was just disbelief, and I challenged them on that can’t be possible. Turned on the radio. And then, of course, from there we saw what happened.”
Honoring Those Lost
In a release issued Thursday, Reynolds ordered flags flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on September 11 in memory of those killed.
The order applies to the State Capitol and public buildings, grounds, and facilities statewide. Residents, businesses, schools, and local governments are encouraged to participate.
The release identified eight victims with Iowa connections among the nearly 3,000 people killed: James Cleere, Karen Ann Kincaid, Mari-Rae Sopper, Michael Tinley, Craig Scott Amundson, Gary F. Smith, Timothy Aaron Haviland, and Sandra Dawn Teague.
Passing on the Memory
Reynolds said younger generations need to understand how September 11 affected the country, comparing that responsibility with learning about Pearl Harbor.
“And I think it’s important that we never, ever, ever forget,” Reynolds said.
Asked about the national unity that followed the attacks, Reynolds recalled Americans coming together. She said unity ebbs and flows and that campaign seasons can deepen divisions.
Watching footage of the attacks remains painful, she said.
“So it’s really hard even to this day, 25 years later, to look at the impact of that horrific act,” Reynolds said. “So, never forget.”
