A Winterset couple, living in a shed with no water, finally rebuilding after 2022 tornado

Ryan and Mandy Gainuss were loaded up and ready to go on a vacation to Texas. Outdoorsy types who love to go camping and live off the land, they were set to go on a fishing trip for a few days.

What they didn't anticipate was the EF4 that hit Winterset that same day, March 5, 2022, tearing through homes and killing six people. The huge tornado ripped through their neighborhood as they quickly scrambled to the basement.

"We made it to the basement door, and as soon as I pulled the door shut, the tornado hit the house," said Ryan Gainuss, recalling the grip he had on the door as the winds kept trying to rip it open.

After what felt like forever, the couple went outside to see their lives changed.

Their barn and hoop building were demolished. Their vehicles were flipped and totaled. Nearly everything they owned was flung across the street. Their kayak even ended up in a stream just north of their home.

Their historic home, built in 1915, which Ryan Gainuss had nearly completely remodeled, was still standing — but it was too damaged to live in.

More: Half her family died in an Iowa tornado. After two years of pain, she’s finding joy again.

More than two years later, the couple is still living in a 14-foot by 32-foot shed on their property with no running water or electricity. Their fight with the insurance provider has left them with few options but to rebuild from the ground up.

The tight-knit community of about 5,000 people has rallied around the couple to help raise the rest of the money that insurance wouldn't pay. Volunteers will soon break ground on a new home the Gainusses hope to occupy before the next anniversary of the tornado.

The Winterset couple's home was unlivable after the 2022 tornado

While the tornado approached the southern part of Winterset, the Gainusses went to the front porch to watch the weather unfold. Living between Madison County's rolling hills, severe weather like tornadoes usually skips right over them.

But as they and many homeowners quickly found out, this one wouldn't. The storm would become the deadliest tornado in Iowa since 2008.

"As soon as the sound kind of stopped we went out," Ryan Gainuss said. "I thought the house was on fire. It wasn't smoke but as much dirt and debris was in the air, I thought the house was genuinely on fire. The air was so filthy."

The house he lived in for 20 years — where he raised his three children and recently added Mandy to the family — was still standing. But it wasn't livable.

A massive branch from a now-stripped tree had fallen onto the home. The roof seemed to have been lifted off by the forces of the wind and was put back on haphazardly as the tornado continued down the road.

The walls seemed to bow and bend to the EF4 winds, which blew up to 200 mph, leaving cracks in every single wall. The floor of the upstairs was no longer attached to the walls. An addition on the back was completely separated from the rest of the home.

After the tornado, volunteers cleaned up Carver Road, the hardest-hit area in Winterset where the couple live, in just a few hours. Soon after, the Gainusses looked to their homeowners insurance for guidance on what to do next.

"They promised that they would take care of us," Ryan Gainuss said.

Life after the storm: Insurance fight, buying a shed

The company, Pekin Insurance Co., offered to pay for a camper for the couple to stay on the property.

"They tried to get us to move to Des Moines to stay in an apartment and that's a far cry from what this is," Ryan said as he looked around the tree-filled property.

"That lasted maybe four or five months and then they stopped making the payments (on the camper)."

The Gainusses were insured by Illinois-based Pekin, which began to exit its home and auto insurance lines from Iowa in December 2023. The company offered them $150,000 for repairs to their home.

A structural engineer, hired by the Gainusses, said there was about $260,000 worth of damages to the home. Ryan Gainuss also disagreed with some of the work Pekin suggested be done.

Pekin spokesperson Susan Crisler maintains it "thoroughly evaluated the claim," along with the Gainusses' third-party's recommendations. Ultimately, a court-appointed "umpire" — an unbiased third party — sided with Pekin's offer, Crisler said in a statement.

"Pekin Insurance has paid that aspect of the claim in accordance with the umpire’s decision and the terms of the insurance policy," Crisler said. "We thoroughly understand and respect the complexity of this particular claim because of our experience with catastrophic storm damage. Pekin Insurance Co. maintains that its handling and payment of the claim is and always has been in good faith and pursuant to the terms of the policy."

The Gainusses paid out of pocket to put up the shed to live in, which they still call home today. No running water and heat from a wood-burning stove has become normal for the couple.

"We'd like to tell you it's just miserable," Ryan Gainuss said. "But we're pretty humble people. We don't need much to be happy."

And they still make light of the situation as much as they can.

"I sleep three feet away from my toolbox, what guy doesn't want that?" he said, laughing.

The breaking point: Two years without showers, heat

After nearly two years of living in the shed and using friend's and family's showers, the couple realized they couldn't continue on much longer.

"We finally realized the insurance company is not going to be there," Ryan Gainuss said. "We put a lot of faith in them doing the right thing, and it just didn't it just didn't pan out."

"They made us feel like we were just trying to get rich off them or get a mansion and all we wanted was a home," Mandy Gainuss added.

In January, she reached out to one of the organizations that helped clean up after the tornado, GoServ Global.

The religious-based nonprofit was founded in 2011 by Iowa farmer Ken DeYoung and missionary Terry Baxter after Haiti was devastated by the 2010 earthquake. The organization aims to deliver hope, spread the word of the gospel and respond to natural disasters.

More: A tornado tore through their Iowa flower farm. A year later, PepperHarrow has rebuilt

Barb Meister, a domestic administrator with GoServ, was one of the people who helped immediately after the Winterset tornado. She has since been advocating for relief and aid for the Gainuss family.

"Asking for help is the hardest thing I think we as human beings can do," Meister said. "They're extremely humble. I mean, they lived like this for two years."

With the help of GoServ, plans for a small two-bedroom house are going to become a reality for the Gainusses, who have since demolished their home. The new one will be built on the same site.

"They just want a house with running water and heat, you know?" said Rebecca Hornback, a pastor with Foursquare Church in Winterset who is leading fundraising efforts for the Gainusses. "It's the basic things that we take for granted."

Auctions, hoedowns and dinners: How you can help support the Gainuss family rebuild

GoServ had planned to start construction early in April but it has been delayed due to rain. It does expect to start soon.

Fundraising to help pay for the home has been a community effort, with the hope of raising $150,000 or more.

Jones-Creek Apparel, a local Winterset business, set up a fundraiser with shirts bearing "I Helped 'Gainuss' A House," a play on the couple's last name. The T-shirts are available until April 30 on the Jones Creek website.

A GoFundMe was created days after the tornado hit Winterset for the Gainuss family. It is still open for donations.

GoServ Global has also set up a fund at the Gainusses church, Reveal Community Church, in Waukee. There is an option to direct funds to the "Gainuss House Fund".

Hartman Auctioneering will host a live auction on June 22 at the Madison County Fairgrounds Community Building.

There is also a "House Raising Hoedown" tentatively planned July 6 at the Judge Lewis House Bed and Breakfast.

One event, a fundraiser meal on April 14, raised $6,500 toward the new home.

"It was good for Ryan and Mandy to see that they're not alone anymore and that we're going to make this thing happen," Hornback said.

Updates on the construction of the Gainuss home and fundraising events can be found on the "I Helped 'Gainuss' a House" Facebook page. If you have items or supplies to donate or can volunteer, reach out to Barb Meister at barb@goservglobal.org or Rebecca Hornback at wintersetchurch@aol.com or at 515-462-1259.

Ryan and Mandy Gainuss lived together but were unmarried when the tornado hit. A month later, on April 23, 2022, the two were wed on their front porch, "tornado style."

Both rocked windswept hair and Mandy held a non-traditional bouquet of weeds and daffodils to symbolize new beginnings.

The two have always lived self-sufficiently and hesitated to initially ask for help. Now, they're seeing an outpouring of support from the community.

"We've always been the ones to help everybody else," Ryan said. "We just have never had to ask for help."

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@demreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A Winterset couple is finally rebuilding after an EF4 tornado in 2022