'We’re Iowans, that’s what we do': Neighbors come together to heal, mourn after deadly tornado
WINTERSET, Iowa – Betty Hope stood in the rubble of her home listening for the desperate whines of her missing cat.
What remained of her worldly possessions – rugs, books, papers, family knickknacks – splayed out in all directions, strewn throughout her yard like pickup sticks by Saturday night’s tornado.
As she stuffed what she could into a black garbage bag, neighbors in kneepads and friends donning work gloves brushed dust off her mementos and wiped mud from photos, piling frames and what tangible memories they could near the edge of the debris.
In central Iowa, where family and community are one and the same, scenes of neighbors down on hands and knees scouring and sorting played out all across disaster zones in Madison, Polk, Warren and Lucas Counties.
Since Sunday’s first light, hundreds of volunteers flocked to help those affected by the storm system that cut a 160-mile-long scar across central Iowa Saturday, killing five adults and two children, injuring dozens and leaving about $1 billion in damage.
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During a news conference after a tour of the impacted areas, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she saw more than 200 people at three places she visited grilling hamburgers and hauling debris.
“I tried to walk through and thank them for being there,” Reynolds said. “Over and over, the response was, ‘We’re Iowans, that’s what we do. We show up.’”
For three hours Saturday evening, central Iowa was gripped by a series of strong storms that tore buildings from their foundations, flipped RVs and destroyed sheds, garages and barns. Starting near the Nebraska border, the storms continued east to about Cedar Rapids, unrelenting in their strength and speed. Even those areas spared from twisters were pummeled by rain and hefty hailstones.
The EF3 tornado that ripped through Winterset was the deadliest twister to hit the state since 2008 when eight people were killed in Parkersburg and New Hartford. With windspeeds up to 136 mph, it damaged 52 homes and left six dead: Melissa Bazley, 63; Rodney Clark, 64; Cecilia Lloyd, 72; Michael Bolger, 37; Kenley Bolger, 5 and Owen Bolger, 2. Six others were treated for injuries.
Another death was confirmed in Chariton, where a tornado leveled parts of the Red Haw State Park. That person’s name wasn't released.
“The last 12 hours have been some of the most difficult times our community has faced,” said Diogenes Ayala, director of the Madison County Emergency Management Department.
'Just unbelievable': Winterset takes a direct hit
The National Weather Service and TV meteorologists warned for the better part of a week of possible severe weather Saturday, but the ferocity of the storms took many by surprise.
Three miles southwest of Winterset, the residents of a small, rural neighborhood along Carver Road were hardest hit. Houses on both sides of the unpaved road were destroyed, the storm’s deadly path marked by the swirls it left in nearby fields.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it," Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes said at a late-night news conference Saturday. "It’s bad. Leveled houses, trees. Just unbelievable.”
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As the tornado traveled northeast through Madison County, it hopped across highways and ditches, tearing the top off a gas tank at a landfill but leaving Winterset's historic town square largely untouched.
“It was so loud, it was quiet,” said Josie Carter, 17, who rode out the storm with her father, Chad, in the basement of their Carver Road home. The windstorm was ear-splitting, she said, but then the air went quiet and still.
“I was able to get to the basement, and the door slammed because of the wind, but he was still at the bottom of the stairs,” Josie said of her dad. “He didn’t quite get into the basement. So I thought he was gone.”
They survived – barely. Their house was a total loss.
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'In a lot of shock': Communities in central Iowa dig out
While Winterset remained the heart of Sunday’s cleanup, other central Iowa counties awoke to scenes of destruction as well.
In Chariton, the Soda Pop Saloon’s western rustic-meets-retro décor – guitars, western posters and old cowboy hats – still hung from the walls of its now-roofless dance floor.
The saloon, owned by Norm Paulsen, had stood for more than two decades, a refuge for families to laugh and two-step without alcohol.
The antique barn next door to the saloon was destroyed, and the house across the street was leveled, snapped trees with bare branches all that remained.
The trailer where the Paulsen family kept all the gear for their country band, The Diamond Trio, lay crushed and crumpled.
“It’s like God came down, rolled the trailer into a ball and threw it back down to the ground,” said Cindy Reyes, Paulsen’s daughter.
Walking the property that had been the culmination of a lifetime’s worth of dreams, Paulsen paused to collect himself. “Where the hell do you even start?” he said before vowing to rebuild in time to open this summer.
At the nearby Red Haw State Park, where one person died and another was seriously injured, the tornado caused “extensive damage” to the campgrounds and the beach area, including the boat docks and the bait house.
In Polk County, grain wagons from the five-generation-old Fritz farm were tossed a half-mile like children’s toys amid downed trees, bent cornstalks and other debris. The family’s nearly 200-year-old barn was destroyed, Tim Fritz said.
Next door, Faith Mathews and her husband, David, had just returned home Saturday evening when they heard the wind making a strange sound.
Running to shelter, Faith Mathews could feel the tornado pulling her, trying to rip her from the house. In the basement, she covered their dog with her body. Her husband piled on top.
The tornado tore the roof off the three-bedroom home and crumbled the brick walls, rendering the structure uninhabitable.
The Mathews’ coffee business, American Pride Roasters, which sells beans at the downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, was destroyed, and their new Lance camper sat upside down on top of the couple’s Corvette.
“You just think this isn’t real,” said Faith Mathews, 45. “I don’t know how I feel really. I think I’m still in a lot of shock.”
By noon Sunday, numerous people had reached out to help. Although many could not get near the homes and farms because of toppled power lines, just hearing from friends ready to lend a hand was comforting, Mathews said.
“It’s so amazing how people reach out,” she said. “We’ll rebuild. It’s all we can do.”
‘The personal side of it’: Communities mourn, heal together
So many Iowans wanted to help, to lend a chainsaw or offer other services to the cause, that Madison County organized two shifts, transporting people to affected areas in a donated Winterset school bus.
“It’s been beautiful,” Ayala said. “It gives me goosebumps.”
Taking a break from their state championship run, the Winterset Huskies basketball team trudged through mud to pick up debris outside the house of Cecilia Lloyd, who was killed in the storms. Her husband, Tom, was seriously injured.
“It’s way more than basketball. We preach that to our guys, anyway,” Winterset coach Josh Henry said. “This is real life seeing that play out. Picking up clothes and personal belongings, it shows you that life is way more than basketball or any sport.”
“We were all built and raised to put community first,” said junior guard Brayden Dinkla. He spent the day salvaging anything he could find: books, photos, record players.
“We definitely got a lot more to play for now,” said Dinkla, who will be on the squad when his team takes to the court Tuesday. “All the guys will be a little more amped to play.”
Michelle McCool, who lives three houses down, retrieved the Lloyds' most precious personal belongings – a film reel, Social Security cards, a Bible – storing them in the back of her pickup.
When a volunteer found Cecilia Lloyd’s wedding dress, still wrapped in its garment bag, McCool scooped up the gown and tenderly placed the lace ensemble in the passenger seat. She couldn’t help but tremble.
“That’s sad,” McCool said. “Especially knowing she didn’t make it.
“That’s the tough stuff,” she said, choking back tears. “It’s the personal side of it, you know.”
When so much of the world feels on edge, a disaster can be the uniting force to remind people of the good, McCool said. On Sunday, people came from as far away as Pella, New Sharon and Pleasant Hill to help clean up, undeterred by high gas prices or danger.
“It brings you tears. … There are good people,” McCool said. “This is what matters.”
Reynolds issued a gubernatorial disaster proclamation late Saturday, allowing for resources to be marshaled in Madison County to assist with response and recovery efforts. U.S. Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas offered the full weight of the federal government.
Sunday, power was restored to most of the more than 10,000 MidAmerican customers in the dark since the storm. Crews from Waterloo, Iowa City, Council Bluffs and Fort Dodge were called in to help.
Across Madison County, doors were opening and grills were firing. The Quilt Museum on Winterset’s town square welcomed residents and first responders for “a break or a cup of coffee.” The auction house welcomed livestock in need of temporary housing to its stalls. The New Bridge Church acted as a shelter for those put out by damage. Four Mile Elementary served as a base for the Red Cross.
As the temperature dropped and snow reemerged in the forecast, volunteers across central Iowa showed no signs of slowing down.
At Betty Hope’s house, friends and neighbors piled her belonging on the edge of what used to be her house as the sun began its dip below the horizon.
She had been three hours away, on her way to Indiana, when a friend called to say her house had taken a direct hit. The friend sent a video, so she thought she knew what to expect. But there’s no preparing for the shock of losing everything, she said.
On Sunday afternoon, moving a beam aside, a volunteer yelled out. He’d found Hope’s 15-year-old cat, Matilda.
Hope cuddled her tight, holding her close to her face.
Matilda was caked in mud, her fur matted and her eyes fearful. But she was alive, and for Hope, that was more than enough.