Greenfield welcomes thousands in donations as RAGBRAI riders witness EF4 tornado damage

GREENFIELD — For the first two days of RAGBRAI, the riders, both out-of-state tourists and Iowans, had talked about going to Greenfield, the southwest Iowa town struck by an EF4 tornado May 21.

Riding into the Adair County town felt like a normal RAGBRAI, they said. As riders pedaled up the final bunny hill into town, a rider called out, “Beer, five miles.” Cornerstone Fellowship Church had a slip and slide, and volunteers sold pie. Residents sat on their porches and waved at riders, and high school students stood in the middle of the road to give out high-fives.

But as riders turned south, reality set in. All shade and trees went away. Homes with boarded-up windows emerged on a sunny plain.

Still, the residents whose homes were damaged welcomed the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa to their town.

“Riding through here today was really emotional,” said Chad Kurovski, who grew up in Ankeny and lives in Omaha. “Just dead quiet.”

That silence wasn’t typical for a RAGBRAI ride. People were taking it in, said Zach Lieser of Prairie City.

“We take time off to ride across Iowa, spending our money, doing all those things,” Kurovski said. “There were houses here. We’re vacationing through someone’s that. That heartbreak.”

Greenfield served as the meeting town for Day 3 of RAGBRAI. An EF4 tornado 1,000 yards wide with winds up to 185 mph struck the town May 21. The tornado destroyed and damaged hundreds of homes in the town of about 2,000 people and left four people dead, in addition to a fatality near Corning.

Greenfield’s decision to remain on the route may have made RAGBRAI history. A town with the “kind of devastation” Greenfield suffered has likely never been on the route so soon after a tragedy, said Chuck Offenburger, a former longtime Des Moines Register Iowa Columnist whose experience with the ride spans at least 40 years.

Local organizers sought to keep the Adair County seat on RAGBRAI’s route as an opportunity to support Greenfield and show community pride. While fundraising wasn’t the main goal for at least one local organizer, what Greenfield saw in donations Tuesday certainly won’t hurt a community facing $30 million in damages.

“Some people said they’ve saved their last two days of money to spend here,” said Lori Wallace, who sold T-shirts and planned to donate the proceeds to rebuilding the Greenfield Fire Department.

RAGBRAI riders feel compelled to give in Greenfield

By Tuesday afternoon, riders had donated more than $10,000 in cash, according to Matt Phippen, RAGBRAI ride director.

It’s hard to say just how much Greenfield raised in total. Plastic bins sat on vendor tables to accept cash donations, and a QR code was printed on a flyer for donating online. Several bins had several $20 and $10 bills before 11 a.m.

A steady stream of riders paused at an information booth to inquire about merchandise, including shirts and koozies stamped with "Greenfield Strong." Many who stopped by purchased an item.

A lot of people also gave donations without a purchase, said Carol Woosley, a Greenfield resident and member of the Greenfield Chamber Main Street who was working at the booth.

One woman helping with the information booth said the effort had netted a $500 Venmo donation. Woosley wasn’t surprised — she’d seen lots of $50 and $100 donations already.

First-time RAGBRAI riders Jeremy and Sarah Fair of Baltimore, Maryland, stopped at the booth to purchase a shirt. The destruction Sarah Fair saw in Greenfield reminded her of Hurricane Katrina ― and of the need for unity.

“We need more of this, communities coming together,” she said.

Some RAGBRAI riders already had shown their generosity earlier this year. For example, the RAGBRAI Newbies Facebook page raised more than $1,000 through GoFundMe to benefit the town.

Greenfield isn’t the first town in RAGBRAI history to financially benefit from riders. The 2021 pass-through town of Lytton had been raising money for the town’s new fire station when RAGBRAI came through, and the attention the town received for its efforts led to a $50,000 donation.

“Last night on stage, I talked about how impactful it’s going to be to get here,” Phippen said. “Every hill that you hit, think about what’s ahead. It’s Greenfield.”

RAGBRAI offers an opportunity to support local

Kurovski and Lieser visited the Warren Cultural Center, where an exhibit showcased photos and video of tornado debris and destruction.

“We’re excited to come through not to see, but to support the community,” Kurovski said. “We always try to go anytime we’re in one of the small towns, buy local. We like drinking our beers at local bars.”

He was thankful RAGBRAI still went to Greenfield.

“I feel in my heart that RAGBRAI riders love this stuff and want to support this,” Kurovski said.

Several vendors were local, from Jennifer Redd of Aunt Jenny’s Kitchen, who sold homemade kolaches, cinnamon rolls and other pastries, to the Greenfield Lions Club, which offered lemonade, pies and more.

Tim Baier, a Greenfield resident of 67 years who is with the Lions Club, said there was “no doubt” that the community needs money to rebuild. All the money the Lions Club raises goes back into the community, he said, though that’s not why the club was at RAGBRAI.

“RAGBRAI’s been through Greenfield before, and it’s always fun to meet the people and visit with people that’s come from out of state, around the world,” Baier said. “We just try to give them something to fall back on with the food and camaraderie. … People come see our town, and even though the south and east is tore up now, we still have a lot of nice things that small towns have.”

The RAGBRAI visit to Greenfield epitomizes ‘Iowans coming together’

Rob Hughes stood in his yard as his 4-year-old granddaughter, Ryatt, waved at riders. At his home, the tornado ripped off siding and the chimney, blew away steps and destroyed an old detached garage in the backyard, Hughes said.

Phil Franksain, an Alabama native who moved to Waterloo in 1987 and works as a semi-trailer driver, parked next to a bolt in the road in a neighborhood hit by the tornado. He stood next to Hughes’ yard and took photos of the damage. He had friends who survived an EF5 tornado in Parkersburg in 2008. The town celebrated its recovery from that tornado by hosting RAGBRAI in 2021.

As Franksain rode into the devastation zone Tuesday, he said the experience felt “surreal.”

“This shows the epitome of true Iowans coming together,” said Franksain, who is riding his second RAGBRAI. “They didn’t have to keep their plans of having us. To me this is a big commitment for a town that went through the devastation they did to still welcome a bunch of crazy individuals cycling across Iowa.”

As Bill Penn, of Andover, Connecticut, and another rider rode through the neighborhood, they said it looked like the damage had been there for years, not just two months. Afterward, Penn got choked up.

He planned to go out and donate while finding lunch.

“That’s part of the spirit of cycling,” Penn said.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

Philip Joens is riding his 19th RAGBRAI. He has completed the river-to-river trek seven times. He covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register and can be reached at 515-284-8184 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: RAGBRAI bikes through Greenfield after EF4 tornado: 'Really emotional'