I live in a state that has been ravaged by floods. More than 15 counties here in Wisconsin have been declared disaster areas and FEMA workers continue to assess the damage to homes and businesses. Mother Nature’s wrath has already exceeded the $20 million mark and is expected to rise in the coming days. The devastation may not be as widespread as it is in Iowa, but residents here are still reeling from the destruction left behind from last week’s torrential rain and severe floods.
This month’s deluges have also soaked several Midwestern tourist spots, most of which rely on the busy summer months to stay in business.
Here in Wisconsin the severe storms drained the man-made tourist magnet of Lake Delton. (The video you saw on every TV newscast of entire homes being swept away in raging waters happened at Lake Delton.) The once picturesque lake was a vital part of the Wisconsin Dells area. The Dells a.k.a. the Waterpark Capital of the World is adjusting and making accommodations for visiting families whose plans have been affected by the storms. Currently, 99% of area businesses have reopened to the public. Businesses that were hit the hardest include the Original Wisconsin Ducks boat tours, which used part of Lake Delton as a pit stop. The company has since rerouted its tours to incorporate views of the now empty lake. Also, a Wisconsin Dells institution, the 55-year-old Tommy Bartlett Show, has replaced its iconic water-skiers with an expanded stage show that includes Aqua the Clown brandishing an oversized plug.
In southern Wisconsin, the floods closed part of Interstate 94 between Madison and Milwaukee, but the stretch of highway recently reopened. Throughout the state a number of smaller roads remain closed.
In flood-ravaged Iowa, officials say all major highways have reopened in the hard-hit eastern part of the state but travelers are warned to proceed with caution as conditions “are changing by the hour.”
In Iowa City and Cedar Rapids local tourism bureaus were completely flooded but have since relocated to higher ground. As for Iowa’s most popular tourist spots–Dyersville, the setting for the baseball classic “Field of Dreams,” and Winterset, centerpiece of the hit film “The Bridges of Madison County”—-both were spared from the recent storms.
In Illinois, the popular tourist towns of Quincy, Alton and Grafton, which sit along the Great River Road, a National Scenic Byway, remain open, but officials there say boating access is closed.
Finally, in Missouri, officials say residents in Mark Twain’s boyhood home of Hannibal are preparing for the Mississippi to crest today. But thanks to a levee and solid floodwall protection the city remains dry. And in St. Louis, the Gateway Arch and other downtown attractions remain open, but the city’s summer-long “LIVE on the Levee” fair has been relocated to higher ground.