TORNADO HITS HOME — A tornado, the first-ever in December in Minnesota, wreaked havoc on the Arcadia Bank building in towntown Hartland Wednesday, Dec. 15. See Page 5 for more photos. Star Eagle photos by Eli Lutgens
By ELI LUTGENS,
MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
At 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15 a tornado touched down in Hartland Minnesota, tearing the roofs from several downtown buildings and damaging many more.
The Hartland Fire Department was early on the scene, remaining until far into the night. Local 20-year Hartland resident and 14-year fire department member Adam Dahlen was on the scene until after 1 a.m., returning again at 5 a.m. Thursday morning. During the storm, he and his family had taken shelter in their basement less than 100 yards from Olson Excavating, a building which no longer has a back wall. “It’s scary to think about something like that happening so close to my house, to my family,” he said.
Among businesses affected, the bank suffered significant damage, as well as L and D Ag’s welding shop, the post office, and several homes.
On the night of the storm as well as the following day, news crews from stations far and near flocked to record the aftermath, including KEYC of Mankato, FOX News from the Twin Cities, and Good Morning America. By 11 a.m. Thursday, more than 100 people were scattered across the streets of Hartland, including the American Red cross, the local fire dept., and residents from Hartland and the surrounding towns.
Tim Volk traveled all the way from Mankato to see the damage for himself. “Thank God nobody got hurt. It’s been too weird of a year. I’m a kayaker and I’ve never seen weather like this. This was a history making tornado… in December! It’s crazy.”
Arcadian Bank, formerly Farmer's State Bank, opened at the Hartland location in 1912, but during the storm on Wed. evening, the brick facade at the back of the bank fell onto the roof, creating debris inside the building. Part of the facade at the front of the building also collapsed onto the sidewalk, taking the new Arcadian sign with it.
Mark Heinemann, president of Arcadian Bank said the extent of the damage hasn't been assessed yet, but they have already met with the insurance adjuster. “They're used to this; they do this all the time,” said Heinemann. The first task ahead for the bank is to get the exterior waterproofed in order to stop any further damage. Then an engineer must assess whether the building is repairable, or if there is too much structural damage.
Meanwhile, those who usually bank in Hartland have the option of utilizing the Freeborn or Albert Lea branches. “The only thing we have here at this location that is not yet resolved is our safe deposit box vault, which is fully intact, and secure – no damage whatsoever,” said Heinemann. “None of the contents have been damaged. But we're working on a plan to move that to our Albert Lea location.” If people urgently need to access their safe deposit boxes, the Hartland branch is working to get the building cleaned up enough, so that there is a safe way to access the safe deposit area. “But, if it is not urgent, then we ask them to wait, and then we'll be working with our security company to transfer those to our Albert Lea location.”
The day after the tornado, many others in Hartland were busy cleaning up storm debris in their yards and from the streets, where everything from branches to storm gutters littered the once pristine town.