Rural Iowa rallies together after a tornado devastates Minden

Brenda Wurdeman and her 10-year-old son, Ethan, sorted through donations at the Neola Area Community Center less than two days after a devastating storm raged through western Iowa.

“It just makes me happy and proud that everyone is helping out,” Ethan Wurdeman said.

They volunteered in a gymnasium filled with clothing, food and household supplies. One task kept them busy organizing bins overflowing with shampoo, body wash and toothpaste.

"You're holding back tears the whole time because it makes you realize people are here to help and people care. It's great to see that all the donations come in, especially when they're things that are needful,” Brenda Wurdeman said.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for Pottawattamie County, where an estimated 300 homes and businesses experienced some damage. The small community of Minden endured the worst, with almost 50 homes destroyed and one person killed. During a visit the day after, Reynolds said the tornado impacted at least 40% of the community.

The town was blocked off while crews tried to restore power and remove safety hazards. So, nearby Neola served as a staging area.

While it rained, donations poured in, including from the Omaha area also affected by the storm, and Des Moines, located almost 100 miles away.

“It’s amazing. It just makes you feel good. We've had some families come in to go through donations, and they're almost in tears because of everything that's here that they can use,” said Jodee Junkman, director of the Neola Area Community Center.

Avery Assmann, 16, visited the center to see what might be available for her family. They hid in the basement with their four dogs when the twister struck.

“When the tornado came through, it sucked all the air out of our house, and our ears popped,” she said. “It was quick. We could hear things in our house getting destroyed, though. It was probably a minute, and then it was gone. It was just silence, calm after the storm.”

Assmann’s home still stands, without a roof, a few walls and a flooded basement due to a broken pipe. Even with some significant damage, she considered herself lucky to be unharmed.

“We’re all alive, so that’s all that matters,” she added. "There are a lot of trees down. A lot of people's houses are down. A lot of people's siding is gone. But the house isn't gone. Two houses came off their foundation. So, they're just in people's yards, but it's very scary to see the town like that.”

A tornado narrowly missed the Wurdeman homestead a mile north of Minden along Interstate 80. So, they focused on helping their neighbors in town who lost everything in the storm.

“It’s a network. It’s a neighborhood. It’s a community that loves and cares for each other. And that’s the heart of a small town,” Brenda Wurdeman said.