Randy Brooks will never forget the day he had to break the news — live on the air — to a woman that her husband had perished in a tornado.
The KIXQ country music radio host had been tapped to help with 24-hour news coverage in the wake of a massive tornado that decimated Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. With electricity and communication grids down, the local AM radio station was the only source of information that locals could receive for days.
After a tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, people tuned into KIXQ radio for information on the whereabouts of loved ones.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Members of the town, with a population of about 50,000, tuned into KIXQ from their parked cars and ...