(Radio Iowa) – Long-time Minden mayor Kevin Zimmerman says clean-up has progressed after losing around 50 homes and many businesses one month ago in a tornado.  “We’re getting a lot of the big piles hauled away. And we’re tearing the concrete foundations out and stuff and getting ready to either rebuild or leave empty lots,” Zimmerman says. Zimmerman says some older residents with destroyed homes have decided not to stay, while others wait for their insurance claims to kick in. He says many were under-insured, including himself.

“Check your insurance to make sure you have enough insurance on your property. You know, make sure you got enough coverage. You know, so you because you never know,” he says. Zimmerman says it was hard to see the devastation in Greenfield form another twister that hit last Tuesday, leveling homes and killing four people. He says both storms have left him shell-shocked. “I’ve had several sleepless nights just thinking about it, you know, what we’ve gone through and what you wish you could just jump in the truck and go there and help them guys right away. That was a big part of what helped us,” Zimmerman says.

The tornado also destroyed Minden’s water treatment plant, and it could take years for a new one to take its place. Residents are relying on a temporary system to get by.