In the local newspapers and on the evening news, we’re seeing images of the Iowa River breaching its banks. As we know, this is not the first time.

The Iowa Digital Library has images and descriptions of previous floods in the Irving Weber’s Iowa City Digital Collection, from the Iowa City Town and Campus Scenes Collection; as well as some editorial cartoons by Ding Darling.

Of course there are also historical images of the Iowa River in less destructive times, which may help us look ahead to the time when the sandbags are gone and the river returns to its banks.