By Deb Kroon
Review Staff Writer
The late blizzard/rain storm that rocked the US from the Rockies to North Dakota left in it’s aftermath flooded fields, devastated towns, and hundreds of homeless people. This is the case for many counties and towns Iowa and Nebraska anywhere near to a river or even a creek. Devastation is the fate of two towns along Interstate 29, about twenty-five miles south of Omaha, Glenwood, IA, population 5300 (about the size of Luverne) and Pacific Junction, IA, population 470. These are just two towns in a several hundred mile stretch that have been affected by flooding. This is the story of one family with ties to Ellsworth, that has been directly affected by the flood waters. Most of what you see and hear is about people you don’t know, but here is a family with ties to a neighbor.
Shane and Tammy Kindt, along with their three children, Sadie, Talia and Taden, live on an acreage outside of Pacific Junction, close to I29 and about 5 miles from Glenwood. Tammy is the daughter of Richard and Connie Gaul of Ellsworth. For the last three years they have been building a new home, doing most of the work themselves. They moved into their dream home on Christmas Day, 2018. On March 15, 2019 at about 8:00 in the evening, a Mills County worker came to their door to warn them about possible flooding, as the Missouri was rising due to the rain, melting snow and ice that was coming down stream. Shane and Tammy made the decision to begin to move valuable items, such as the tools they had been using to build the house, from the out buildings to the house.
“We built our house three feet above the highest water level of the “500 year” flood of 2011,” Shane explained. “We felt that even if the creek (that is about 1 mile from their home) flooded and we got water, it would possibly be only in the basement. At about 8 a.m. Friday morning, a Sheriff’s deputy came to the door and told us we would have to evacuate, to get prepared. We gassed up the cars and loaded in clothes and important items, so we were ready. We decided to drive around and do a little “looky-louing” and see how things were around us. The county had already blocked off the road by the creek, and there was some water on the road – to be expected. We drove to the levee and saw that the water was level with the top of the levee. At this point we decided this was something to be concerned about. We headed for home, stopping only to pull out a neighbor who had gotten stuck.”
“Once we got home, I called some of my buddies who had volunteered to help us and we started to move electronics, furniture, everything we could upstairs in the house. We loaded tools and other items into a trailer to take into Glenwood . The kitchen cabinets were not installed, so we set them, along with the milled wood, up onto saw horses. We figured that even with two or three feet of flood waters, we would be ok.”
“After taking the trailer into Glenwood, we thought we’d go back to get the camper. By the time we got back to our house, water was pouring over the levee and there was already water in our yard. At that point we figured we had about 5 minutes to grab anything that was loose and get out of there. I have security cameras on the house,” Shane went on, “so we could see that the water had risen 2 to 3 feet in about 15 minutes. After that, the electricity was shut off to the house and we lost connection. Drone footage on Saturday night showed that the water had risen to the top of the first floor windows.
“We aren’t in the river’s path, it’s about a mile away,” explained Tammy. “The water was anywhere from 6 to 14 feet deep. We found out that ten of the fourteen levees along the river had failed. The Spencer Dam was broken and word was that Gavin’s Point was releasing a little more water, because the water level there was also rising.”
The Kindts explained that until the levees are repaired, there is nothing to stop the water, and they will not be fixed until the water recedes. They could be looking at weeks, maybe months, with the possibility of more water as the snow up north melts. The water extended in some areas from bluff to bluff, many miles of water.
The town of Glenwood has grown from it’s population of 5,300 to over 10,000 in the last week. To complicate matters more, the town has lost it’s water filtration plant, so there is no useable water and no sewage. “Port-a-pots have been brought in for people to use, said Shane. “A new well has been dug, but it will still be 4 to 5 days before it can be used. Once the water goes down, the filtration plant will be repaired, but it will be 30 days after it is fixed before the water will be safe again. The town is pulling together during this. We are just trying to keep things going.”
The Kindts have been staying with friends in Papillion, NE which is southwest of Omaha. “We have found a basement apartment in Minden, IA (northeast of Omaha)” Shane said. “It is small, but it’s an opportunity for us to stay together as a family. The kids and Tammy could stay in Glenwood which would be close to school and work for her and I could stay in Papillion, which is closer for me, to Offutt Airforce Base, but we feel it is important to stay together, so we will make the long commutes. The dogs we have been sent to Ellsworth to stay with Tammy’s family and for now the cat is staying in Papillion.”
Who thinks of the animals of these misplaced families? Hopefully they are able to stay with their families. “We know a lady that has moved from place to place,” said Shane, “she has four dogs, and that makes finding a place harder. Another young boy’s main concern was for the chickens they left behind. They are the last of these people’s possessions,” Shane said. “They’ve lost everything else.”
“It’s impossible to wrap your head around all of the water,” he continued. “In just one hour Pacific Junction went from being a town to nothing but rooftops. We don’t even know what we’ve lost-we don’t know what we need. It may be months before we can get back into our homes.”
The Kindts put me in touch with Barbara Kaiman, director of the Mills County Storehouse, which is a place in Glenwood (the
County seat) that people in need can go to get a meal or clothing, when they have nothing. Barbara told me that she normally serves 5-8 meals per day. In the last week she has served over 300 meals per day. She said they have a gymnasium that, right now, is full of clothing, hygiene supplies and cleaning supplies. She said their need is sustainability. People will continue to need things for weeks to come. She gave me a list,of the things that will be needed in the weeks to come. You will find the list in the text box in the story.
On Sunday, April 7th, there will be a Flood Relief Pancake Feed, silent auction and bake sale held at the Fire Station in Ellsworth to raise money for the Kindts family. The committee for the benefit is still excepting items for the silent auction, so if you’d like to donate something for the auction, please contact Connie Gaul at 507-360-0925 or Richard Gaul at 507-920-6124.
