A long-delayed Buena Vista County flood-recovery project is getting another infusion of federal money — but the latest FEMA award is still well below what the county says it will take to fully address the damage at Linn Grove.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is awarding the Buena Vista County Conservation Board more than $1.3 million for permanent repairs, including to the Linn Grove dam, as a result of severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds and tornadoes.
That project has been tied up in FEMA reviews, appeals and arbitration for years following major flooding in 2018 and 2019, with additional damage from flooding in 2024.
The county originally had more than $7.5 million dollars obligated by FEMA for the Linn Grove dam and park projects. That included about $3.1 million for the dam and $4.5 million for the park.
But FEMA later deobligated all of that funding after raising questions about whether some of the damage was caused by the disasters or resulted from preexisting conditions.
The conservation board appealed, and in February of 2025, a federal arbitration panel ruled the dam damage was eligible for FEMA funding. At that point, the conservation board was seeking about $3.1 million for the dam itself, along with nearly $3 million for eligible portions of the park — about $6.1 million combined.
Buena Vista County’s engineering estimates have since grown. In March of this year, Conservation Director Greg Johnson told the county board of supervisors FEMA was using a figure of about $3.1 million for the dam and $2.96 million for the park, while the county’s updated engineering estimates put the dam at about $3.6 million and the park at about $6.2 million — nearly $10 million dollars combined.
The latest FEMA award to the conservation board is $1,314,688.50.
According to Johnson, the work at Linn Grove is extensive. The federal arbitration decision identified damage involving the dam itself, as well as the park’s parking lot and gully, water hydrants and water line, restroom and south entrance road.
The dam has also had a complicated history. Engineering studies found the structure contains portions dating back much further than the current concrete, along with wood, voids, sediment and layers of concrete of varying strengths. The engineering review also documented a history of modifications and repairs following high-water events.
The arbitration panel ultimately found the dam had been functioning before the 2018 and 2019 disasters and that the disasters caused it to lose that functionality, making the dam eligible for FEMA assistance.
The county has continued working with FEMA on the remaining issues. In June, supervisors committed $40,000 in county carryover funds to help keep Linn Grove dam and in-channel repair work moving while federal approvals remained pending.
Cherokee is also receiving new federal disaster funding.
FEMA is awarding the city more than $260,000 for building exterior and interior repairs or replacement resulting from severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds and tornadoes.
Cherokee continues to work through recovery from the June 2024 Little Sioux River flooding. Separately, FEMA has awarded the city more than $113,000 to purchase flood-damaged commercial properties, while Cherokee has been awaiting approval for a residential buyback program involving more than two dozen damaged homes.
The new FEMA awards to Buena Vista County and Cherokee are part of a larger, more than $18.2 million package benefiting communities in eight Iowa counties recovering from severe weather and flooding. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley welcomed the funding, saying it’s encouraging to see federal dollars supporting the Hawkeye State and that he’ll “keep working to ensure Iowans get the support they need.”
