Government : Bodeker Assists with storm Cleanup on local farms following Derecho

Bodeker shares experiences as she helps cleanup following the derecho that tore through the area

For the past three weeks, Ruby Bodeker has been traveling through the county and helping with clean up from the derecho that ripped through our area.

A candidate for Iowa House 75, Bodeker shared a video on her Facebook page, showing the devastation on one of the farms of good friends that she has been assisting with.

It's the people like this, that aren't afraid to lend a hand and work alongside Iowans when the unexpected happens. Part of the job description that Bodeker is seeking to win as a State Representative will require a lot of service, something she's shown that she's not afraid to do.

Here is a link to a video that she shared as she helped with cleanup on a farm that lost several hog barns.

Bodeker shared a bit about her experiences below and also several photos that can be seen here.

"Since the derecho of August 10 barreled through Iowa, my campaign team and I have been trying to assist our community in meaningful ways. Nothing we've done, however, has been about us, it has always been about giving voice to the people who live here and helping our neighbors when they needed it most. The best leaders center those they are elected to lead in the good times and the tough times and the last few weeks most definitely count as one of our tougher times.

After the storm departed on August 10, I made sure my kids were going to be ok and then headed out across the district, spending time in Van Horne, Blairstown, along Highway 30, in rural areas, and in Marengo, speaking with law enforcement, communicating with local elected officials, and snapping photos for the local newspaper. I wanted to see and hear people's stories. To document what was happening in order to better understand what would be needed in the days ahead.

Our campaign reached out to folks as best we could by phone, text, and email throughout that first week, as well as in-person. We spent significant amounts of time in Belle Plaine and Shellsburg while continuing to communicate with people in other communities and in rural areas. We brought a much-needed pop-up pantry to Timber Ridge mobile home court south of Shellsburg that first week. We assisted residents with filling out and filing Food Assistance replacement forms. We did the same in Belle Plaine via their community center. We also brought a pop-up pantry to Garrison, a community particularly hard-hit by the July 2011 derecho-parts of the town lost power again on August 10 while also dealing with a boil order.

We spent an afternoon at a Keystone farm with folks from Iowa County who wanted to help their neighbors to the north, picking up debris from one of three hog barns that had been destroyed in the storm. While hauling away pieces of their livelihood-now scattered across the land-we heard their story.

We worked with a reporter from Iowa Public Radio, connecting her with people in Benton County in an attempt to make our stories matter, too. In the words of a Belle Plaine resident, "People that live in Benton County are just as good as people that live in Linn County."

One such couple we connected her with was Terry and Judi Hertle of rural Newhall who-when all is said and done-will more than likely lose every building on their 1919 farm save for a grain bin and a hog house. One-hundred years ago, Terry's grandfather August built the farm on a bare spot of ground. There are countless stories like the Hertles' that need telling.

We here in rural Iowa are anchors on this landscape and much of our landscape was altered by the windstorm. I worry what will happen to people's mental health in the weeks and months ahead-drought compounding everything. I worry about the future of farming having lost so many older buildings, buildings that represented a more diverse era. Forging a sustainable path for Iowa by bringing more beginning farmers to the land, it's going to be that much harder now in many counties.

As Terry Hertle explained to Iowa Public Radio, "People lived on the land because of the livestock operation…I think that's where we're heading in the Midwest [people living in town and driving out to their farm].

We lost part of our history on August 10, 2020. So many have had to dig holes and burn parts of that history. That matters. We matter here in House District 75.

But with each passing day, I find more reasons to be proud of this space we call home here in Benton and Iowa counties. Our determination to make a stand. Our desire to help our neighbors and take care of our own. Our faith that tomorrow will be better. The landscape may not look the same, but the people who live here still anchor this space and their voices need to be part of the larger conversation."

Thanks, Ruby for your hard work in the community!