Surviving Tornado Devastation in Minden, Iowa

FOX Weather correspondent Brandy Campbell visited Minden, Iowa a day after a tornado ravaged through the town. She spoke to residents Sherri Guerrero and Randy Davis about their harrowing experiences surviving it. Governor Kim Reynolds highlighted that Mayor Ken Zimmerman was also among the survivors during a press conference with her. The twister destroyed roofs, uprooted trees, and pushed a two-story home off its foundation in Minden on April 26th, 2024. Iowa State Trooper Dustin Pieken’s cruiser bore witness to this fury as shingles, walls of houses, and tree limbs slammed into it, but he managed with plastic sheeting, tape, and cardboard from his trunk after the wind died down enough for him to move around. Residents praised him on social media, calling him a hero while the mayor himself broke down during Reynolds’ press conference about damage comparison between this tornado and one that hit Minden in 1976 as he recounted managing community recovery alongside personal loss with two businesses impacted by it. The town suffered around 40% destruction of its homes, while about 180 structures sustained some kind of damage, forcing them to operate off generators because their water supply could not be pumped into the tower due to damages incurred during the storm. Several people were injured but reports regarding fatalities are yet to be confirmed by FOX Weather officials. The mayor attributed early warning systems for giving Minden’s residents enough time to find safety as authorities survey and cope with devastation inflicted on the town while an overwhelming number of volunteers came out to assist in clean-up efforts, forcing some away due to space constraints at cleanup sites.