Storm destroys historic Maryhill church
10:55 p.m.
By Alicia Ebaugh Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Siouxland's dry spell has ended, but the rains came at a cost.
A century-old Catholic church and a 2,000-head hog confinement were flattened Tuesday evening by strong winds and rain that pounded through Northwest Iowa and parts of South Dakota.
Numerous corn fields in the area were also flattened by the wind and heavy rain.
At the Sioux Gateway Airport, only about a half inch of rain was reported, but wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour were measured. In surrounding areas, the fallout was much worse.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday night that Maryhill Catholic Church near Meriden, Iowa, was no longer standing. The church was founded in 1892, according to a history on the Sioux City Diocese Web site. The church had been struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1904.
The church was rebuilt and reopened in 1905 at a cost of $14,000. The church's stained glass windows were valued at $320,000 in 1995.
The Maryhill community also includes a rectory, built in 1899. It housed a school until 1967. A convent was built in 1917 and is now the home of the caretaker.
Maryhill is best known for the annual Maryhill picnic, observed on the second Sunday of August since 1918.
In Plymouth County, near Brunsville, Iowa, a hog confinement at 24746 170th St., owned by Kelly Plueger, was "completely ruined" as a result of Tuesday's storms, Plueger said. "Nothing was left" of the structure, he said; he and area rescue and law enforcement officials had to round up the hogs and take them "somewhere," he said.
Brunsville resident Dean Beitelspacher said the Le Mars, Iowa, area received about 3 inches of rain, most of which fell heavily on corn fields, flattening some of them. He was told someone in town had measured winds up to 79 miles per hour, Beitelspacher said.
The Plymouth County Sheriff's Office reported many trees down and power outages dotting the area.
Between 7 and 8 p.m., the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls reported a 17-degree drop in temperature, from 89 to 72 degrees, which it said may have helped spur the dangerous weather conditions. However, the weather service had no tornadoes sightings as of Tuesday night. It reported strong wind gusts were assumed to have caused much of the damage in surrounding areas, including flattening entire fields.
A century-old Catholic church and a 2,000-head hog confinement were flattened Tuesday evening by strong winds and rain that pounded through Northwest Iowa and parts of South Dakota.
Numerous corn fields in the area were also flattened by the wind and heavy rain.
At the Sioux Gateway Airport, only about a half inch of rain was reported, but wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour were measured. In surrounding areas, the fallout was much worse.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday night that Maryhill Catholic Church near Meriden, Iowa, was no longer standing. The church was founded in 1892, according to a history on the Sioux City Diocese Web site. The church had been struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1904.
The church was rebuilt and reopened in 1905 at a cost of $14,000. The church's stained glass windows were valued at $320,000 in 1995.
The Maryhill community also includes a rectory, built in 1899. It housed a school until 1967. A convent was built in 1917 and is now the home of the caretaker.
Maryhill is best known for the annual Maryhill picnic, observed on the second Sunday of August since 1918.
In Plymouth County, near Brunsville, Iowa, a hog confinement at 24746 170th St., owned by Kelly Plueger, was "completely ruined" as a result of Tuesday's storms, Plueger said. "Nothing was left" of the structure, he said; he and area rescue and law enforcement officials had to round up the hogs and take them "somewhere," he said.
Brunsville resident Dean Beitelspacher said the Le Mars, Iowa, area received about 3 inches of rain, most of which fell heavily on corn fields, flattening some of them. He was told someone in town had measured winds up to 79 miles per hour, Beitelspacher said.
The Plymouth County Sheriff's Office reported many trees down and power outages dotting the area.
Between 7 and 8 p.m., the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls reported a 17-degree drop in temperature, from 89 to 72 degrees, which it said may have helped spur the dangerous weather conditions. However, the weather service had no tornadoes sightings as of Tuesday night. It reported strong wind gusts were assumed to have caused much of the damage in surrounding areas, including flattening entire fields.
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