Gov. Reynolds visits small Iowa town devastated by tornado

MINDEN, Iowa (WOWT) - Gov. Kim Reynolds was in Pottawattamie County on Saturday to view the damage that obliterated much of the small town of Minden.

Also on Saturday, the county declared a state of emergency; the governor issued her proclamation for the county Friday night. The EMA said in their release Friday that about 120 homes and businesses had sustained varying degrees of damage, and that utilities in the area had been disrupted.

The storms flattened a portion of the small town of Minden, Iowa, located on the northern edge of Pottawattamie County. Other communities affected include western parts of Council Bluffs, and areas near Crescent, McClelland, and Treynor.

Some homes had been pull off their foundations, torn apart from the ground. Damage was particularly expansive on the east side of Minden, were about half the homes there were severely damaged.

The governor’s disaster proclamation makes relief funds available through the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program, which can be used for repairs to homes or cars, as well as clothing, food, and temporary housing.

Only residents were being permitted back in Minden. Officials said impacted Minden residents could return to the area at 8 a.m. Saturday, but that a curfew would be in effect for the town between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. until further notice.

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