3 years later: A look at Marshalltown’s ongoing recovery process from 2020 derecho

The community of Marshalltown is continuing its efforts to recover three years after a derecho swept through the town. The storm, which included a line of widespread damaging winds and heavy rain, saw wind speeds over 100 mph in some parts of the state.Aug. 10, 2020, is a day many in Marshalltown will never forget. The road to recovery has been long and it's still ongoing. But signs of resilience and hope are all around town today.Sasha Reisin is an artist from Argentina who painted four murals around Marshalltown. Two of those murals, titled "Resiliency" and "Remembrance," focus on the town's ability to come together after a natural disaster.He spent time talking with people in Marshalltown to determine what values and morals were most important to them. He said it was clear after his conversations that this was a strong community. The murals were finished in June."A very important theme came up that was about the diversity of the community and the resiliency that was shown after the tornado and derecho," Reisin said. "It's nice to be able to point that out or focus on that in my artwork."Just down the street from one of those murals is Riverside Cemetery, a place that was hit especially hard by the derecho. General manager David Shearer says the place was in "shambles."Monuments were twisted and knocked over, and trees were torn down. Shearer says they are still in a lot of debt because of the storm. He said he hopes that with time and little help from the community, all of the pieces will be picked up."It'll take several years...we lost a lot of trees. And this is an old cemetery," Shearer said. "It's amazing the trees are left standing that are. It won't be in my lifetime that there'll be the growth of trees again."

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa —

The community of Marshalltown is continuing its efforts to recover three years after a derecho swept through the town.

The storm, which included a line of widespread damaging winds and heavy rain, saw wind speeds over 100 mph in some parts of the state.

Aug. 10, 2020, is a day many in Marshalltown will never forget. The road to recovery has been long and it's still ongoing. But signs of resilience and hope are all around town today.

Sasha Reisin is an artist from Argentina who painted four murals around Marshalltown. Two of those murals, titled "Resiliency" and "Remembrance," focus on the town's ability to come together after a natural disaster.

He spent time talking with people in Marshalltown to determine what values and morals were most important to them. He said it was clear after his conversations that this was a strong community. The murals were finished in June.

"A very important theme came up that was about the diversity of the community and the resiliency that was shown after the tornado and derecho," Reisin said. "It's nice to be able to point that out or focus on that in my artwork."

Just down the street from one of those murals is Riverside Cemetery, a place that was hit especially hard by the derecho. General manager David Shearer says the place was in "shambles."

Monuments were twisted and knocked over, and trees were torn down. Shearer says they are still in a lot of debt because of the storm. He said he hopes that with time and little help from the community, all of the pieces will be picked up.

"It'll take several years...we lost a lot of trees. And this is an old cemetery," Shearer said. "It's amazing the trees are left standing that are. It won't be in my lifetime that there'll be the growth of trees again."

3 years later: A look at Marshalltown’s ongoing recovery process from 2020 derecho

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