They are finally talking about restoring power to the downtown area. Some businesses are actually planning to re-open when power is restored. Quaker Oats is staying, as is Cargill, and Smulekoff's Furniture store.
I helped some friends clean up their property. Their property borders the Cedar River, and they got 5 and a half feet of water in their basement and 5 feet in their detached work shed. Their home is a walk-out basement type of home, so they were able to get a green placard saying their home is safe to live in. The mess was amazing - their back yard looked like a moonscape with mud everywhere. I got a little mud on me and I actually had to scrub very hard to get it off.
I have not been downtown, as officials are saying that if someone does not have to go downtown, they should stay away. I hear people are working very hard to get things cleaned up. The only looting was a couple of young people trying to make off with some liquor from one of the downtown bars
Still, we are looking at several hundred homes that will have to be destroyed. And, we have lost huge amounts of acreage to the river - it scrubbed off the topsoil and replaced it with un-tillable rocks and silt.
Anyway, I will be off the board for a while - going on an extended vacation. Will catch up when I return.