Community Cedar Rapids Post-Derecho
Bend with the Wind Three stories of resilience amid destruction. BY GENEVIEVE TRAINOR Home of Katrina Benning and Jeremiah Hopkins
found a contractor willing to sign on—but it took until June for the third-party engineer the contractor brought on to produce a quote. Now the ball is back in their insurance company’s court (a company that their bank required they use as a condition of their mortgage acceptance, Hopkins said). To make matters worse, their insurance premium has gone up 63 percent over last year (previous yearly increases have hovered around 4 percent). “It’s been a wild ride,” Benning said. “I would say that yes, we’re stronger than ever. We’ve gone through hell together. I can’t imagine facing this with anyone else. … I would not have been able to get through this with anyone but him.” Both Benning and Hopkins’ eldest daughter lived in flood-impacted homes back in 2008, so for them, the derecho experience dredged up past trauma as well as creating new. “You just have to laugh at a lot of shit,” Benning said. The family is currently living in a temporary home in Marion. The insurance company covers the rent, but other expenses are on them, includ-
When Katrina Benning and Jeremiah Hopkins bought their 1959 home on the edge of Bever Park in Cedar Rapids six years ago, both had been homeowners before. But this was their first home together. Their blended family, which brought together her two children and his four in what Benning called “kind of a Brady Bunch situation,” fit nicely in the spacious home. They loved the custom features, the beautiful backyard and the “wooded, secluded feeling” it had. “We were both Westsiders as kids,” Hopkins said.” But we’ve really come to love the Southeast side.” When the derecho hit on Aug. 10, 2020, one of the largest trees in their beloved backyard fell directly down the middle of the house. Another fell along the side, taking out the chimney. Altogether, they lost at least six trees. “It went from completely shaded to no shade at all,” Benning said. Now, almost all of the walls are torn out, and much of the floor is gone as well. All of the custom finishes and features of the home have been gutted. And, while they’ve seen their neighbors and other community members wrapping up repairs or at the very least knowing a timeline for completion, they’re facing down yet another demand from their insurance company to send yet another adjuster out to the property, this time a large loss consultant. Over the course of last fall, they had at least six different contractors out to the property. Many of them said the damage OVER THE COURSE OF LAST FALL, THEY HAD AT LEAST SIX was the worst they’d seen from DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS OUT TO THE PROPERTY. MANY OF THEM the storm; those that didn’t get back to them almost immeSAID THE DAMAGE WAS THE WORST THEY’D SEEN FROM THE STORM; diately to say the job was too THOSE THAT DIDN’T GET BACK TO THEM ALMOST IMMEDIATELY TO big just ghosted them entireSAY THE JOB WAS TOO BIG JUST GHOSTED THEM ENTIRELY. ly. Finally, in November, they
Chad Rhym / Little Village
38 August 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV297
ing pet deposits for their three cats, the costs of moving and, of course, their mortgage. They’ve been in the rental since November; prior to that, they were living in a far-too-small house that was immediately available last August. Even where they are now is 1,600 square feet less than the 30th St home that they still have no idea when they can return to. “We’ve been fortunate,” said Hopkins, speaking both of their current accommodations and of the outpouring of support they received from friends and coworkers immediately following the storm. Someone set up a GoFundMe, others brought food and supplies, still others showed up with their own chainsaws to help him in the yard. But not knowing takes its toll. “It’s a grief cycle,” Benning said, adding, “We both are going through different stages at different times … so we are able to help ground each other.”
