A widely-known radio personality died in the flash flooding Saturday night in Des Moines when his van stalled in flood waters. Sixty-six-year-old Larry Cotlar had been the play-by-play announcer for Drake men’s basketball since 2003. For the past four seasons he had been the analyst on radio broadcasts of Drake football. Andy Garmin, the sports director at K-C-C-I Television in Des Moines, worked alongside Cotlar on a sports radio talk show for five years.
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Garmin uses words like “bighearted” and “tremendous friend” to describe Cotlar, was with WNAX Radio sister station ESPN 1350..
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Garmin says it’s difficult to speak of Cotlar in the past tense.
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Garmin and Cotlar last spoke while Cotlar was umpiring a triple header last week..