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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/22/meteorologist-climate-death-threat-iowa/
When Iowa meteorologist Chris Gloninger got an email notification last June, it read: “Getting sick and tired of your liberal conspiracy on the weather.”
“What’s your address,” another asked Gloninger a few days later. “We conservative Iowans would like to give you an Iowan welcome you will never forget.”
The emails arrived relentlessly in Gloninger’s inbox for another month, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The sender accused the award-winning meteorologist, who spoke frequently about the effects of climate change, of being a conspiracy theorist and a “worthless Biden puppet.” Another told Gloninger to “go east and drown from the ice cap melting.”
Gloninger, the chief meteorologist at Des Moines news station KCCI, shared some of the messages on social media in July and said they had taken a toll on him.
“I’m trying to put it behind me,” Gloninger told The Washington Post. “But at the same point, I think it brings awareness to what journalists face day-to-day bringing the news.”
The episode ultimately led the meteorologist to a career-altering decision. Gloninger is departing KCCI and his career in TV news in July, he announced Wednesday, citing family health issues and post-traumatic stress he suffered after receiving the threats.
KCCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When Iowa meteorologist Chris Gloninger got an email notification last June, it read: “Getting sick and tired of your liberal conspiracy on the weather.”
“What’s your address,” another asked Gloninger a few days later. “We conservative Iowans would like to give you an Iowan welcome you will never forget.”
The emails arrived relentlessly in Gloninger’s inbox for another month, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The sender accused the award-winning meteorologist, who spoke frequently about the effects of climate change, of being a conspiracy theorist and a “worthless Biden puppet.” Another told Gloninger to “go east and drown from the ice cap melting.”
Gloninger, the chief meteorologist at Des Moines news station KCCI, shared some of the messages on social media in July and said they had taken a toll on him.
“I’m trying to put it behind me,” Gloninger told The Washington Post. “But at the same point, I think it brings awareness to what journalists face day-to-day bringing the news.”
The episode ultimately led the meteorologist to a career-altering decision. Gloninger is departing KCCI and his career in TV news in July, he announced Wednesday, citing family health issues and post-traumatic stress he suffered after receiving the threats.
KCCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
