An AP analysis of federal data by Missouri-based state government team reporter David Lieb and Washington-based data team editor Meghan Hoyer found the government’s costs to buy out homes in flood-prone areas have been rising over the past decade, with the data made available for localizations by major AP customers. The richly reported story, including photos by Kansas City photographer Charlie Riedel, centered on a small Missouri town that just happened to be in danger of flooding yet again at the time of publication. Play showed that AP’s customers were hungry for content that went beyond the spot coverage of the epic flooding inundating the country’s midsection.