T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Anderson Funeral Homes at 405 W. Main St., top, and Thompson True Value at 106 S. Center St., bottom, are two local businesses whose owners chose to rebuild in Marshalltown after their buildings suffered severe damage from the July 19, 2018 EF-3 tornado.

(Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of stories looking back at the July 19, 2018 EF-3 tornado leading up to the fifth anniversary, but also looking forward and detailing rebuilding and revitalization efforts since then.)

Two Marshalltown business owners whose properties were severely damaged by the July 19, 2018, tornado not only repaired and rebuilt, but they have confidence in the central business district five years later.

Jody Anderson of Anderson Family Funeral Homes and Dave Thompson of Thompson True Value recently shared their thoughts with the Times-Republican.

Both are optimistic about the future of downtown Marshalltown, and sharing in their enthusiasm is retired businessman, former county supervisor and Marshalltown native Denny Grabenbauer.

Anderson: “Marshalltown has rebounded quite well”

The tornado did $690,000 in damage to the large building housing Anderson Family Funeral Homes and Crematorium at 405 W. Main St. but owner-operator Jody Anderson said insurance offset the expenses.

The Marshalltown mortuary is one of three Anderson owns, with others in Conrad and Gladbrook.

With repairs long since completed, he has concentrated efforts on growing his business and moving forward.

The businessman and U.S. Army veteran reviewed the community’s response following the tornado.

“I think overall, Marshalltown has rebounded quite well five years later,” said Anderson, a Clinton native who resides in Marshalltown. He has been a local business owner since 2012 and active in veterans and community affairs. He commended city and county officials, civic groups, and volunteers in the recovery efforts.

“I was pleased to see Marshalltown residents work together in the days and weeks immediately following in what was a chaotic setting,” he said. “However, hats off to Alliant Energy. Our business had power the day after the tornado, and we were able to hold a service at a local church too.”

Like other Main Street business owners, Anderson has followed the progress made in the central business district.

“Of course, I would like projects downtown to move faster, but they will be completed in due time,” he said, noting that some of the most severely damaged buildings had been demolished. “And I was pleased to see the fencing surrounding the courthouse had been taken down recently.”

The fencing had long reminded residents of the devastation caused by the EF-3 tornado to its historic courthouse – an iconic landmark which only recently reopened — and to the many city blocks in the tornado’s path itself. The courthouse lawn is now open to the public, with landscaping efforts underway.

Grabenbauer: “Businesses are coming back”

Until recently, former Marshall County Board of Supervisor Dennis Grabenbauer was spending most of his time watching with his wife Barb their two granddaughters compete in softball. Their seasons ended, Grabenbauer had time to reflect on July 19, 2018, and how he views progress in the central business district and other areas impacted.

Grabenbauer, who resides on 29th Avenue on the city’s far southwest side, said he could see the tornado forming. Anticipating danger, he went to the basement.

Barb, a registered nurse, was on duty at UnityPoint Health-Marshalltown — then at its former location on East Main Street.

“I think Barb must have worked 30 hours consecutively,” he said. “She and other staff had to quickly secure patients in their beds when tornado warnings were issued and then arranged to have those patients safely transported to other UnityPoint facilities after the hospital was deemed unsafe.”

Grabenbauer — a 1968 graduate of (the former) Lenihan High School in Marshalltown — decided not to run for re-election as supervisor after eight years. His last day was Dec. 31, 2015.

“I was shocked to see the damage to the courthouse, to downtown businesses and the neighborhoods,” he said. “Regardless, the businesses, neighborhoods and central business district are getting back to normal. And I am not going to criticize those directly involved in recovery efforts because I knew it would take a lot of time. One doesn’t know the time-consuming processes of getting insurance claims filed and getting reimbursements from state and federal governments.”

Grabenbauer drove stock cars at Marshalltown Speedway and then moved to the announcer’s booth. Additionally, he drove a Colonial Bread Truck and serviced customers along its route. He also worked as a parts manager at a local auto dealership. Grabenbauer also owned and operated a public relations/advertising business, and he found time to give back to the community, volunteering to emcee the annual Oktemberfest parade and Central Iowa Fair’s queen contest among many other events.

As a result, he knows the resiliency of Marshalltonians and is optimistic for the central business district. He said he has seen a lot of progress too in the northwest and northeast neighborhoods where the tornado’s force resulted in millions of dollars in damages.

Grabenbauer said he was ecstatic that Lennox Manufacturing kept its facility in town, despite suffering heavy damage and that JBS USA Marshalltown recovered in a timely fashion.

“I see the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce and others are moving back downtown after years of being elsewhere. For a time, a lot of business was going to the southside… now businesses are coming back.”

Thompson True Value rebuilds from the ground up

“Kathy I bought the store (then across the street from its current location) late November, 1985 — 38 years, what a ride!” longtime Thompson True Value Owner-Operator Dave Thompson said in a recent text message to the Times-Republican. “Our store is one of the oldest businesses in Marshalltown, founded by L. C. Abott in 1860. It has always been family-owned and operated. With our son Paul taking over, our family will have the longest tenured ownership.”

The business suffered not one but two major weather-related incidents in 2018.

A late April snowstorm deposited many inches of heavy wet snow all within six feet of the roof edge of the old building. Strong winds followed.

Thompson believed that later caused two main roof trusses to break, resulting in the building’s north wall — also the store’s entrance — to eventually separate from the roof and bulge out. Hay Construction of Marshalltown installed two large steel beams supported by concrete blocks weighing 18 tons to keep the wall in place.

“Because of the damage, we conducted business out of the front door, making us Marshalltown’s first drive-up hardware store. Customers drove up to the front door and gave their order. Staff would go get it, take it to the customer, get payment and ring-it up on the register,” Dave said.

The Thompsons and staff were in the process of moving into a temporary location at the Marshalltown Mall when the tornado hit.

“Paul and I barely got out (of the old store) in time,” he said. “It further damaged the building making it unusable.We then had a decision to liquidate and take the insurance and retire, or rebuild.”

Paul wanted to continue in the business, so the choice to rebuild and expand was easy.

“We were extremely fortunate to have a successor (in Paul),” Thompson said. “We also loved doing business downtown. We purchased the parking lot (from Wells Fargo Bank) across the street from the old store and broke ground in October 2018. We opened nine months to the day in July the following year. It was either going to be our biggest financial mistake or our best, not knowing if others would follow the path we took. There were many sleepless nights … keeping with the motto of shop local … the job you save could be your own.”

The Thompsons exclusively used local contractors and materials in the construction of the new store to support the community that had supported them.

“Those contractors went above and beyond proudly getting us back in business, making us the first to rebuild and return to the downtown,” Thompson said. “We also learned from those weather experiences and engineered the building to withstand more stress and loads.”

The derecho that hit Marshalltown in 2020 only damaged the business sign on the building.

“We can’t thank our customers and employees enough. They followed and supported us through three locations in under a year,” he said.

Five years later, Thompson said he, Kathy and Paul are pleased to see the businesses rebuilt and remained downtown.

“It is great to have the heart of our community, the courthouse back open along with the Lennox Manufacturing and Action Auto nearing completion,” Dave said.

The Thompsons are hopeful that the several choice open lots on Main, Center and State streets will be developed in the near future. They are eager to see how the former McFarland Clinic building on North Third Avenue and UnityPoint Hospital buildings on East Main St. will be developed.

“The major investment by the Karl Auto group on Iowa Highway 14 North has also been key and speaks volumes,” he said. “The 13th Street District is solid. The downtown has become the dining and entertainment hub of our community once again. Hopefully some of our most requested retail needs — mens, women’s and children’s clothing — will be filled. All things considered, downtown Marshalltwon is headed in a positive direction that others will follow! We made the right decision to rebuild and to rebuild downtown,” he said.