CRESCENT, Iowa (KMTV) — Crescent neighbors were affected by the Arbor Day tornadoes and now the area is experiencing flooding from the Missouri River. Not to mention the straight-line winds on Tuesday night that took down trees.
- “I think some people are just asking for some relief. No bad storms, no tornadoes, no floods. Give us a break for a while,” said restaurant owner, Dale Schmidt.
- Near Honey Creek, a few miles north of Crescent, water from the Missouri River overtopped the levee and is flooding farmland.
- “It’s just unbelievable the weather that we’ve had around here,” said Beverly Madsen, sitting in her utility vehicle with her dog, Gabby.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors in Crescent, Iowa are dealing with their second natural disaster in two months. I’m your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter KATRINA MARKEL. I spoke with a business owner here along the old Lincoln highway in Crescent and he told me he worries for some of his customers.
Crescent is one of the Pottawattamie County communities hit by the Arbor Day tornadoes. Now, the Missouri River is out of its banks in the nearby river valley.
Dale Schmidt, whose dad started Henry’s Diner in 1983, says it’s a lot for this community of 600 people…especially after the 2019 floods.
“I think some people are just asking for some relief. No bad storms, no tornadoes, no floods. Give us a break for a while,” said restaurant owner, Dale Schmidt.
Schmidt says neighbors have supported his family business through several major floods, plus the pandemic.
With I-29 closed, traffic is being routed through the Old Lincoln Highway through Crescent.
“So, a lot of people stop here ... but, where we really get hurt, is by the Omaha people, especially like the Florence area, that’s only a 15-minute drive when 680’s opened up,” said Schmidt.
Since 680 is closed — it could take customers 45 minutes to get to Henry’s Diner from North Omaha.
“It’s just unbelievable the weather that we’ve had around here,” said Beverly Madsen.
She and her dog, Gabby, were helping neighbors and family clean up after the straight-line winds on Tuesday. She told me she’s exhausted.
“I’m heading over to my daughter’s house. She just lives down the street from Henry’s. And her big cedar tree, I don’t know how tall – TALL – fell across the front of their house,” Madsen said.
On a county road north of Crescent, neighbors ignored barriers to look at the flooding. A road worker told me people just need to be smart — a gravel road that looks fine — could easily be washed out.
A farmer near Honey Creek was spraying beans in a field that he doesn’t think will flood, but he told me he’ll have to rely on insurance for the crops that are flooded.
