FEMA awards $5.9 million for Buena Vista County storm recovery repairs

More than $2.2 million is headed to the Buena Vista County Conservation Board, the largest local share in a new $5.9 million federal disaster package meant to turn last summer’s storm damage into visible repairs.

The money, awarded by FEMA to Buena Vista County, Cherokee County and the City of Spencer, is slated for critical infrastructure repairs, wastewater treatment facility upgrades and transportation improvements. For Buena Vista County, the grant puts the conservation board in line to control the county’s biggest piece of the recovery funding, with local governments still watching to see how much of the award reaches roads, facilities and other public assets residents use every day.

The grants are tied to Iowa’s major disaster declaration for severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds and tornadoes that began June 16, 2024. The declaration was issued June 24, 2024, after FEMA’s preliminary damage assessment documented 39 destroyed residences, 49 homes with major damage, 1,338 with minor damage and 1,172 affected homes.

In Buena Vista County, the storm recovery has remained visible in the unresolved questions around storm-damaged public infrastructure, including the Linn Grove Dam area. Nearly two years after the disaster, local residents are still waiting for some of the most expensive repairs to move from damage reports into finished work.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra said the communities had “waited years” for the funds and said he worked directly with FEMA and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials to secure the resources. He said the aid is needed to help residents and local governments rebuild and “emerge stronger than before.”

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley also backed the long-delayed aid, saying Buena Vista and Cherokee were among the counties eligible for FEMA Public Assistance after the storms. Grassley had earlier urged expedited disaster aid as Iowa faced a run of damaging tornadoes and severe storms in April, May and June 2024.

The allocation breakdown reported by Feenstra’s office includes more than $2.3 million for Spencer, more than $2.2 million for the Buena Vista County Conservation Board and more than $1.4 million for Cherokee. In nearby Cherokee, the wastewater treatment plant was damaged beyond the point engineers recommended repairs, a reminder that the federal money now arriving still has to catch up with the scale of the damage local governments absorbed.