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

NEW TONIGHT, PEOPLE IN MARSHALLTOWN ARE MAKING REMARKABLE PROGRESS AFTER THE AUGUST 2020 DERECHO. REMEMBER THESE IMAGES THREE YEARS AGO TODAY, THE POWERFUL HURRICANE LIKE STORM RIPPED ACROSS OUR STATE AND MARSHALLTOWN TOOK A HARD HIT. KCCI OPHELIA JACOBSON IS THERE WITH THE SIGNS OF HOPE AND PROGRESS. ALL AROUND TOWN. AUGUST 10TH, 2020, IS A DAY THAT MANY HERE IN MARSHALLTOWN WILL NEVER FORGET. POWERFUL 100 MILE PER HOUR WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN CAUSED LOTS OF DAMAGE IN THIS TOWN, INCLUDING TO THE MARSHALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE. AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS STILL ISN’T OVER. COMMUNITY IS SOMETHING THAT IS HARD TO DEFINE FOR SOME. IT’S A PLACE THAT MAGGIE AND LENA, TWO FEMALE SWANS. FOR OTHERS, IT’S A FEELING WE’RE GOING TO BE STRONGER THAN EVER AND WE’RE GOING TO BE REVITALIZE. FOR SASHA RAISIN, IT’S A PAINTING ON A WALL. IT’S ALSO NICE TO ME TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF POINT THAT OUT. YOU KNOW, OR FOCUS ON THAT IN MY ARTWORKS. THE ARTIST FROM ARGENTINA SPENT TIME TALKING WITH PEOPLE IN MARSHALL TOWN TO DECIDE WHAT HE WANTED TO PAINT. THE ANSWER WAS CLEAR, VERY IMPORTANT THEME CAME UP THAT WAS ABOUT LIKE THE COMMUNITY, LIKE THE DIVERSITY OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE RESILIENCY THAT HAS SHOWN AFTER THE TORNADO. THE TORNADO AND THE DERECHO. TWO MURALS TITLED RESILIENCY AND REMEMBRANCE SHOW JUST THAT THE PIECES OF ART COMPLETED IN JUNE REPRESENT AN ONGOING RECOVERY PROCESS. IT TAKES WHAT IT TAKES IN TERMS OF TIME AND A PROCESS THAT TAKES MONEY. WE STILL PROBABLY OWE CLOSE TO A HALF A MILLION. DAVID SHEARER IS THE GENERAL MANAGER OF RIVERSIDE CEMETERY, A PLACE THAT SUSTAINED A LOT OF DAMAGE. MONUMENTS WERE TWISTED AND KNOCKED OVER. TREES WERE ALSO TORN DOWN. IT WAS JUST IN SHAMBLES. THERE’S STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE. THREE YEARS LATER AND PEOPLE KEEP COMING AROUND. DIFFERENT FAMILIES HAVE STEPPED UP AND AND TAKEN CARE OF DIFFERENT MONUMENTS. COMMUNITY IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TOUGH PUTTING INTO WORDS, BUT WHEN IT SHOWS UP, WHETHER AT A CEMETERY, EVERYBODY LIKES TO COME TO RIVERSIDE OR ON A WALL, I GOT THE FEELING THAT PEOPLE REALLY VALUE THE PLACE THAT THEY LIVE ON IT. SURE IS HARD TO MISS. IN MARSHALLTOWN, OPHELIA JACOBSON

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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