The blizzard that hit north-central Iowa Sunday (12/28) into Monday (12/29) left dozens of travelers stranded after the Iowa Department of Transportation closed Interstate 35 in western Franklin County, but community shelters stepped in to help. Franklin County Sheriff Aaron Dodd says nearly 60 people spent the night at the Latimer Community Center, where volunteers provided meals and support. Latimer Grocery stayed open so those who found themselves without food and beverages could get those items and other essential supplies. Dodd says some neighbors even opened their homes to help those in need.
“Nearly 60 people were brought to the Latimer Community Center and spent the night over there. And then we’ve had great volunteers in the community that showed up, helped provide food, helped cook food. ah The Latimer grocery store remained open so people could get what they needed from the store. ah We were going through lists of people that were willing to open their homes in Latimer to take people in.”
A similar effort unfolded in Alexander, where 20 to 25 people spent the night at the Reformed Church. Dodd told RadioOnTheGo News that members of the Alexander Fire Department deserve gratitude for transporting stranded residents safely to the shelter.
“We had a church member open the reformed church in Alexander and we had between 20 and 25 people in the church in Alexander that spent the night there. And kind of a big thanks to Alexander Fire Department, members of the fire department went out and kind of shuttled a bunch of people into the church there in Alexander.”
Dodd added that by Monday morning, only a handful of people remained waiting for tow trucks to retrieve their vehicles, and thanked the communities for stepping up during the storm.
