With block after block of homes renovated or undergoing major repairs, city officials are expressing optimism these days about the prospects for north Minneapolis in the aftermath of last May's tornado.
"Visually, aside from the lack of trees, it looks better," City Council President Barb Johnson said after a Thursday event that coincided with a statewide Tornado Drill Day designed to help Minnesotans prepare for tornado season. "There are new roofs, new siding, stucco, lots of new garages."
There's also a sense of pride in the amount of community cooperation at the city and state level, along with the infusion of funds from nonprofit groups and the work of thousands of volunteers.
Yet major problems remain, including high levels of poverty and unemployment that officials say they believe are essentially unchanged since before the tornado struck. Some tornado-ravaged buildings have been abandoned or remain unrepaired. Some residents who were displaced by the tornado have moved away. There are empty lots where homes have been demolished, and many blocks are nearly devoid of trees. In back yards, there are splintered and broken trees.
Officials and neighbor leaders talked about the North Side in interviews following a news conference by Mayor R.T. Rybak and state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman as part of Severe Storm Awareness week that continues through Friday. Schools, businesses hospitals and other organizations practice emergency plans during two drills Thursday afternoon and evening. Earlier in the week, state officials had reminded Minnesotans about taking cover during storm warnings and touted new automatic notifications.
In north Minneapolis, Rybak and Rothman urged homeowners to make sure they have homeowners insurance that covers storm damage.
They stood in front of the newly repaired home of Mary Ann Schissler at 3711 Emerson Av. N. When the tornado roared through on May 22, 2011, two trees crushed her roof and caused major structural damage.
Before the tornado, Schissler's insurance company had threatened a big rate increase, so she had let it lapse while she sought an alternative. She said she signed up for a new "bare bones" policy two weeks before the tornado hit.