(Radio Iowa) – The mayor of a western Iowa town devastated by an E-F-3 tornado eight months ago says he’s pleased with the progress of rebuilding but admits a full recovery could take up to a decade. Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman says the twister on April 26th destroyed 50 homes and 90 percent of the businesses. “We’re still working on rebuilding. The attitude in the area seems to be real high,” he says. “There’s a few that have moved away, but a few that want to come back. We’ll just keep plugging away.” Zimmerman estimates the damage could easily exceed twelve million dollars and some residents struggled with insurance claims, which delayed some rebuilding.

“The big thing is you have insurance; the house is gone. You have insurance for X amount of dollars. Why are we arguing about it? Just pay the damn money?,” Zimmerman says. Colleen Haggerty returned to her home in Minden right before Halloween after spending months in Council Bluffs waiting for repairs. “The community is pulling together, and I just hope all the business losses and stuff doesn’t ruin the town, you know?,” she says” Haggerty considers herself lucky — that her damage could be fixed.

“I hope no one else has to go through that. My grand kids are still traumatized. I had two grandsons here with us, too, when it hit,” Haggerty says Mayor Zimmerman says the state and Iowa West Foundation have provided between four and five million in grants to help the community rebuild.

A spokesperson says FEMA has provided almost 150-thousand dollars in individual assistance in Minden and is working with the city on public assistance projects.