Katzer: Spencer is my hometown. It will bounce back from flood

Starting Line Intern Grace Katzer is from Spencer, one of many Northwest Iowa communities ravaged by flooding. We asked her to write about it, and here are her thoughts.

“The water is creeping closer.”

The text from my mom sent my heart plummeting toward my feet. It had taken most of Saturday, June 22, for the floodwaters to reach my home in Northwest Spencer. The devastation had already reached my sister Emma’s townhouse in Southwest Spencer, as well as my former high school classmates, the mall that housed my first job, and the company that built my mom’s career.

The Northwest Iowa flood managed to take away more than anyone could have imagined, catastrophizing the small, quiet town of Spencer, turning it into a scene for emergency rescue crews on boats, permanently altering the lives of citizens, and creating barriers of financial disparity, food insecurity, and displacement. 

My grandparents, who have lived in Spencer for 50 years, said one of the worst parts of the disaster was that no one knew it was coming, and no one could prepare. 

“I don’t remember any other flood being this destructive since I have been around,” she told me. “It is truly, truly horrible.”

My Saturday was just like any other. I woke up around 8 a.m. and headed to the local food pantry I work at in the Iowa City area. I called my mom before heading in, checking in on what I heard was some bad weather (pretty constant rain, thunderstorms, etc.). Unbeknownst to me, the city had just enforced a travel ban for all Spencerians right before my call.

Having lived in Spencer my whole life, I could count on one hand the amount of times I’d seen a real flood in my hometown, and never once could I recall a travel ban. My heart sank. And then, I went to work because while the lives of my loved ones stopped back home, it was an average day in Iowa City. 

Throughout my four-hour shift, I glanced at my phone approximately 2,000 times. Texts came flooding in (excuse the misplaced pun). Temporarily stranded in the midst of a travel ban, my boyfriend’s mom witnessed a family fleeing their homes with babies in their arms and leashes strapped to the wrists, holding all the belongings they could manage. Every road, in every direction, was overtaken by the Little Sioux River, which splits the town in half. Everyone was stuck, everyone was shocked, and no one knew what to do. My shift was ended at 12:30 p.m., and by the time it was over, my sister on the south side of town was completely isolated from my mother on the north side.

Through my sister’s eyes

Days after the flood, I asked my sister, Emma, what she could remember from the quickly progressing event. She told me it wasn’t what she could remember but what she could never forget. 

Flood water seeps into Emma Katzer’s townhouse in Spencer on Saturday, June 22. Photo submitted by Emma Katzer

Emma’s timeline:

7:41 a.m. | A phone call from her stepdaughter’s mother, asking if she and her husband, Derek, could take the kids. Stuck at her quickly flooding home, the water was as tall as her 7-year-old. Derek grabbed his keys and headed outside, only to find his own street quickly filling with water.

8:01 a.m. | Water approaches their driveway as they realize their home will, inevitably face incomprehensible flood damage. 

9:30 a.m. | The water is feet away from the front door, in the garage, and slowly overtaking each of their cars. My sister realizes she had already, unknowingly, driven her car for the last time. 

10:16 a.m. | The water seeped in through the cracks of the walls, under the garage, and into their home. 

10:53 a.m. | Her stepdaughters were rescued from their home by boat and taken to a church shelter. 

Noon | They hear crashes from the totes and belongings in the garage, realizing much of their belongings were permanently destroyed. 

Back in Iowa City, communication with my family halted suddenly after I got off work. While Facebook, which quickly became the news site for Spencerians in the flood, was still updated frequently with new information, my family had gone radio silent. They had lost all electricity, all cell service, and all city sewage (meaning no flushing toilets or taking showers). As I write this, some still face all three losses. 

With no communication with my family, I took to social media to see how the flood was progressing. Instead of feeling any sense of assurance, I learned just a few of the many people who were displaced. I saw photos of the town I call “home” become unrecognizable—with every reload, a new post popped up on my timeline, someone I know expressing shock and devastation. GoFundMe accounts circulated as the city of Spencer worked to update the community. 

I asked my mom if I could come home. 

“It’s too soon,” she responded later. Physically and emotionally, going back to Spencer was impossible. So I did what I do best—I tried to share stories and spread the word and stories of those in need.

The McNeas, a well-loved family in the Spencer community, lost nearly everything in the flood. Their kids, Maggie and Owen, were once classmates of mine at Spencer High School. Now, they have next to nothing. 

“It was really scary trying to pack up my whole life into one bag because the water was rising so quickly, and I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Maggie told me. “We ended up at Lincoln Elementary after spending 30 minutes trying to exit the neighborhood.”

Maggie’s dad, Matt McNea, alongside Spencer High School senior Hunter Byrd, took a canoe around the neighborhood to help evacuate families. Meanwhile, Maggie, her mom, siblings, and dog sheltered at Lincoln with 40 other people, including pets, infants, and the elderly. Maggie—who described the situation as one of the scariest times in her life—shares the same reality with more than 300 other people displaced in Spencer.  Following the flood, Maggie set up a GoFundMe for her family to hopefully make their home liveable one day. 

Spencer residents being rescued by boat during a record-breaking flood. Photo submitted by Emma Katzer

Being so far from home left me completely and utterly helpless. But some of the actions that help the most can be done from anywhere—sharing resources and donating to those in need. To help with flood relief for the city of Spencer, donations can be made to the city’s Chamber of Commerce. Individual families, like the Ortiz family and the Dirkx family, have GoFundMe accounts set up to repair specific damages from the flood. 

Organizations have also stepped up to house, feed, and clothe individuals in need. Foundation Church Spencer has pulled in thousands of donations and serves as the central distribution hub for supplies for those in shelters. For an updated list of donation needs, people can turn to their Facebook or Instagram. 

I love my hometown as much as the next person, and it is both tragic and heartwarming to watch the town you have always known come together to not only save lives, but build them back. Spencer is a wonderful hometown that encapsulates the beauty of Iowa life, and with passionate volunteers and donations, we know it will return to the vibrant town it once was.

Fast facts about the Northwest Iowa flood

• The floods expanded throughout Northwest Iowa, South Dakota, and Southwest Minnesota. 
• President Biden declared a Major Disaster Declaration in Clay, Emmet, Lyon, Plymouth, and Sioux counties. People in these counties can apply for federal funding with FEMA. 
• The Iowa Department of Agriculture reported Northwest Iowa received “several months worth of rainfall” during the flood. The rates were 300-600% higher than normal. 
• One fatality was reported near Spencer after a truck was caught in flood waters Saturday.
• By Saturday night, 383 Spencerians were rescued, KITV reports, with two people rescued by the Air National Guard.
• Disastrous weather is prevalent across the Midwest, floods, tornados and other storms alike.