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Hotels in Marshalltown full after derecho

T-R PHOTOS BY THOMAS NELSON Hotels in Marshalltown are booked. Workers from outside the area are staying to help clean up the town and the county, and to restore power to residents and businesses.

It has been a difficult week for Marshalltown and Marshall County following the damaging derecho Monday – the second devastating storm to hit the city in three years.

Some of the city has received power again, but many are still in wait-and-see mode.

With houses damaged, tree damage everywhere and power lines still down, there has been an influx of electrical workers to the city to help residents get back on their feet. In many cases, the hotels of Marshalltown have been where recovery workers are staying – and it has meant the bulk of them are packed.

The Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce’s Director of Tourism, Andrew Potter, said after hearing from hotel people in Marshalltown that open rooms are scarce in some of the city’s hotels at the moment.

“Many are at full capacity or near capacity,” Potter said.

Potter said he was told by those working at hotels that a majority of the people staying have been working in the city with tree removal or electricity restoration. He added that there are likely some Marshalltown residents staying in hotels and seeking power and air conditioning in town while they wait for theirs to return.

It has been encouraging, Potter said, that despite some hotels sustaining damage they have been able to keep the doors open.

“Some have had phones go out and have had issues like we all have,” Potter said. “Not big enough to close the doors, but they are working through it.”

One of those hotels recovering from damage is the Hampton Inn and Suites, which warned all guests on the front page of its website that “Due to recent storms, our hotel has significant roof damage and is currently without phone and internet access. Our hotel remains open, however, operations may be impacted.”

The Best Western Regency Inn is another hotel whose phone line has been made temporarily unavailable due to the storm.

It is not the way Marshalltown wanted its hotels to fill up, Potter said. But in a difficult situation, he made clear that he is proud of the way the hoteliers in the city have stepped up in a time of need.

“They’re there for everyone who is coming into town or is in town,” Potter said. “Hotels are stepping up in unfortunate circumstances.”

Potter said it’s emblematic of the tight bond Marshalltown has forged while bouncing back from multiple natural disasters.

He added that the spirit of the community and willingness to help throughout has been “inspirational.”

“That’s what Marshalltown is all about, is helping your neighbor,” Potter said. “It’s why people talk about Marshalltown as a close-knit community.”

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