Determination runs deep for Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman. His small community in Pottawattamie County, about 30 miles outside of the Omaha metro area, took a direct hit from a damaging tornado on April 26, 2024. One man died. Millions of dollars in damage was left in the aftermath.
“We're rebuilding, we're coming back just as strong as we ever did, because there's a lot of houses getting redone," he said. "There's gonna be more people moving back in here mid-summer.”
Zimmerman estimated that about 100 of the town’s 600 residents were originally forced to leave due to a lack of housing after the storm.
The twister destroyed about 50 homes, with about half currently being rebuilt, and others refurbished.
“Now you drive through, a lot of houses have new siding, new roof or new design, and it's actually making the town look pretty cool," Zimmerman said. "Other areas still need a bit of work. But, you know, it's coming."
Paying for storm recovery
Finding the money to rebuild has been tough because Zimmerman said many people were underinsured, including himself.
"We were insured, but never covered for a total loss. I was about 60% insured on everything," Zimmerman said. "The city was pretty well insured, but you would never guess we’d lose water, sewer, gas and electric.”
The town currently relies on a temporary wastewater treatment plant to get by while officials work to raise the $3.5 million needed for a new facility.
“We’re still, I think, about a million or so short on our water plant," Zimmerman added. "So, we're working on grants and FEMA stuff. It just takes forever. But our sewer plant is just about done."
Other funding has come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa West Foundation and other donations.
“There's just a massive amount of money that's needed to do all this,” Zimmerman said. “It’s not what we need today. It's what we need tomorrow.”
Long road to recovery
The list of things that still have to be addressed extends past the necessities for homeowners. Plans still need to be drafted for a new community center, parks and baseball diamonds.
Main Street also doesn’t look the same, as Zimmerman said. Many essential businesses are no longer there. He said out of about of 26 to 28 businesses, only five were left standing.
“We lost our pharmacy, doctor, local feed store, the seed corn guy and greenhouse. The meat market’s gone too, but I think they’re working on bringing it back,” he said. “It’s a little tough, but we’re looking forward.”
While Zimmerman hasn’t calculated the total cost of the devastation, he is heartened to see signs of nature’s renewal.
“It’s amazing. I thought we didn't have any trees left, but now I'm looking, and it's starting to green up," Zimmerman said. "You can start seeing some trees blooming. So, it’s encouraging on that end."
Not the first tornado to touch down in town
Minden weathered another damaging tornado that swept through in 1976 when Zimmerman was 10 years old.
“It wasn't quite as bad. We had a few homes damaged back then, as did some businesses. They pretty much all rebuilt,” he recalled. “But this storm was worse because buildings were just gone. I grew up here my whole life, and I’m driving around looking at property I’ve seen thousands of times, and concrete is the only thing there. I had to do a double-take.”
Zimmerman's outlook on severe weather shifted after living through a second, more intense storm.
“We used to sit in the garage and watch storms roll by," Zimmerman said. "Now, I'm in the basement hanging onto our loved ones. I'm a little more gun-shy now."
