© 2025 WVIK
Listen at 90.3 FM and 98.3 FM in the Quad Cities, 95.9 FM in Dubuque, or on the WVIK app!
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

As winter nears, communities in NW Iowa still grapple with summer floods

Six people are sitting in a semi-circle on tables. There are two men, one woman and three men on the other side. There are microphones set up in front of the woman who is wearing a red jacket.
Sheila Brummer
/
Iowa Public Radio
Some of the officials who attended a meeting in Correctionville on Dec. 9 included, from left to right: Woodbury County Supervisor Mark Nelson, Correctionville Mayor Ken Bauer, Gov. Kim Reynolds, State Sen. Kevin Alons, Kolby DeWitt, Outreach and Regional Director for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and Woodbury County Emergency Michael Montino.

Local governments and the state face a challenge in how to pay for damage from historic high water. Leaders in one small community hope to find a way to fill an expected gap in funding and also improve the overall economic outlook.

Correctionville Mayor Ken Bauer admitted he felt anxious meeting Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds when she visited for the first time after the Little Sioux River caused substantial damage more than five months ago.

“Can I tell you how nervous I am?” Bauer said.

Reynolds quickly put him and others at ease during a visit to city hall Tuesday.

“Don’t be nervous — listen, I grew up in St. Charles, Iowa, and the population is 500 — so that is who I am,” Reynolds said. “I'm happy to be here and look forward to talking about what you've done.”

A quick look around town showed few visible issues in the small town of 766 people, where more than half of the 300 homes sustained some kind of water and sewer damage, including the mayor’s home. A few buildings, a water pump station and about 10 homes still need a major overhaul or replacement.

"If you look out the street, you would never know that most of this had been flooded,” said Correctionville City Clerk April Putzier. “But a lot of what we’re dealing with now is what people can’t see, and it takes a lot of time, and we’re making progress — but it’ll be a couple of years' project.”

Bauer said his town can’t afford to pay the total cost, which remains unknown.

"The money just isn't there," he said.

Another issue that weighed heavily on his mind was the potential buyouts of homeowners. Hills, river water and a floodplain landlock Correctionville. And, if the city decides to buy out properties, federal guidelines prohibit future development.

“A lot of the houses are getting back together — but we have probably eight to 10 that are not livable,” Bauer said. "Some people are going to be disappointed because we just can't touch them — we can't touch all of them. And our tax base is so small now — if we lose those 10 houses, that makes our tax base that much smaller."

When it comes to extra costs, Reynolds said the state can try and use ARPA dollars or ask the state Legislature for additional money.

She toured a historic veteran’s hall gutted and ready for renovations, a damaged lift station and a MidAmerican Energy substation that officials would like to relocate to avoid future flooding.

“We're monitoring the public assistance, so that continues to be ongoing. We're continuing to work with FEMA to make sure they're responsive,” Reynolds said. “It looks like about 82 households were able to take advantage of the FEMA individual assistance. That's why it's so important not only to get the state disaster declaration in place immediately but also to be able, almost within 24 hours, to get the presidential disaster declaration. Because that opens up additional funding for those that have been impacted.”

Woodbury County Emergency Management Coordinator Michael Montino said 233 households in the county received more than $6.5 million dollars in individual assistance.

“We’re now working on the public assistance side — what can we do to get public infrastructure up and running?” Montino said. “What do we see as the next step in Iowa for helping to bridge the gap and helping economically disadvantaged communities get back on their feet, like Correctionville?”

Reynolds asked for 100% reimbursement — but unfortunately only ended up with 75%.

“We were denied. So, we'll continue to look at what it takes to cover that gap financing that we're going to need to get these communities back on track,” Reynolds said. “We’re continually evaluating that and looking at ways we can stand up different programs to help meet the need."

Beyond the flood

Not only did Bauer talk about the needs after a natural disaster, but urged the governor to come up with ways to benefit small, rural towns with economic development and incentives for larger companies to set up business.

“We're along a very busy Highway 20, and Highway 31 also comes through,” Bauer said. “We need something for people to not just move here and live here, but for jobs other than farming.”

Reynolds said she planned to address rural needs in the next legislative session and mentioned housing tax credits and broadband coverage improvements as ways to help.

“We have invested millions of dollars to make sure that we have the connection that our young people require, as well as diversifying business," Reynolds said.

Woodbury County Supervisor Mark Nelson, who farms south of Correctionville, also mentioned the lack of cell phone coverage as a setback for economic development.

“It’s a serious issue that we legitimately have people in Woodbury County who live on paved roads or live in a town that does not have access to cell phones, Wi-Fi or landline phones in the year 2024. It’s a scary thing.” Nelson said. “Broadband is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't work in all places because of how sparse some people are.”

“I can tell you honestly, I travel to all 99 counties, so I can tell you where there’s no tower coverage,” Reynolds added. “So, we may need to look at that. We put $100 million into broadband, we may need to take a look at towers as well and diversify some of that funding.”

The long haul

County and local leaders were pleased the governor stopped by. They hope the state can help cover some of the cost of a full recovery.

“Just like some of the latest hurricanes that we've had, some of the aid that is being given to our citizens is just simply not enough, and we're all facing gaps that we somehow have to figure out how to close, not only at the state level, but also the local level as well,” Montino said.

A woman wearing a long black coat is embracing a man with a blue shirt as they walk down the street. This is man on each side of them and a brownish colored SUV in the background. Plus, a city sign that says "Correctionville" in the distance.
Sheila Brummer
/
Iowa Public Radio
Correctionville Mayor Ken Bauer escorted Reynolds to her vehicle after she spent an hour in the community. In October, Bauer told IPR News he was disappointed the governor didn't personally reach out after the disaster. Bauer declined to comment about his concern after the visit.

Reynolds embraced Mayor Bauer before she left town to travel to Rock Valley, another northwest Iowa community where hundreds still live in temporary housing.

"The recovery, I think, is off to a good start," Reynolds said during the meeting with city leaders. "But there are things that we need to look at. We're talking about bringing the team down and maybe sitting down and looking at ways that we can really collaboratively think about how we can rebuild, restructure and hopefully grow."

During a final interview with reporters, Bauer's voice broke as he recalled the natural disaster that brought his community together over the past several months and what might come next.

“I still get emotional about it — our recovery is going to take time," Bauer said. "The people of the town just have to understand that we're doing the best we can.”

Sheila Brummer is IPR's Western Iowa Reporter, with expertise in reporting on immigrant and indigenous communities, agriculture, the environment and weather in order to help Iowans better understand their communities and the state. She's covered flooding in western Iowa, immigrants and refugees settling in Iowa, and scientific partnerships monitoring wildlife populations, among many more stories, for IPR, NPR and other media organizations. Brummer is a graduate of Buena Vista University.