Back in the summer of 2024, parts of Minnesota were ravaged by flooding, with water destroying homes, businesses, and infrastructure. For those impacted, all they could do was wait for the water to go down, and start rebuilding.

Dave Anderson of Brimson was one of many hit by floodwaters, leaving multiple buildings on his property as total losses, and destroying everything inside his home.

“I wasn’t ready for the refrigerator that had floated into the living room. With Aaron, it had tipped over, floated in. The living room was upside down with all this rotting food in it. It was a mess. It was really was.” Anderson said in an interview with WDIO, a year after the flood.

With such widespread destruction, a Federal disaster was declared, making victims like Dave eligible for FEMA assistance. But for so many impacted in the area, and the country, it wouldn’t be a quick process.

“FEMA, god bless them, are so slow. And to be fair, they had 10 disasters that seemed like the time. This storm that they declared a disaster for here ran all the way to the Gulf. Then you go through a whole other process of application and waiting. And it was into September when I was calling them and saying, “I need to have some answers here because you don’t understand where I’m at.”

Where he was at was rebuilding his home, gutting much of the interior, and doing so quickly before the winter came. Thankfully neighbors were willing to lend a hand, as were non-profits like the Red Cross, and United Way.

“They [United Way] were excellent. They were right on the scene, very sympathetic and very easy to talk to. They laid everything out for me about, what they could do, what they couldn’t do. They also offered building materials, which nobody else did. They were right on – and there was no guessing. There was no, ‘Well, I’ll get back to you on that.’ They always had an answer.”

WDIO has teamed up with United Way to help raise money for victims of wildfires. More information can be found here.