Last week’s killer tornadoes missed Iowa, but dozens of Iowans are responding to help residents in other states recover and rebuild. Volunteers from Iowa’s Red Cross chapters, from Sioux City to Des Moines to the Quad Cities, are loading up emergency response vehicles or hopping on planes. They’re heading for states as close as Illinois and as far away as North Carolina and Alabama. So far, the Red Cross has opened 25 shelters in 11 states after the tornadoes injured hundreds of people and killed at least 39. Iowa church groups are also responding. Volunteers from a West Des Moines church are in Harrisburg, Illinois, working to clear fallen trees with chainsaws. To donate, visit RedCross-dot-org.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)