LINWOOD, Kan. — Tim Unrein was working in his shop, right next to his home when the May 28, 2019 Linwood tornado blew through. He went home, took shelter and moments later, felt his home tearing apart.
"Come out, everything was gone. Come up my hill my house was all destroyed, my shop. It was a mess, like a bomb hit," Unrein said.
Linwood Mayor Brian Christenson said he immediately went through town after the EF-4 tornado, surveying the damage and making sure everyone was safe. After 24 years in the community, the destruction surprised him.
In the weeks and months since then, Christenson says the community is still navigating the aftermath.
"A lot of the individual homes are still being built," Christenson said. "Some people abandoned and just said we don't want to live there anymore."
Not the Unrein family.
Tim and his wife Diane decided to rebuild in the same place the tornado took their home.
"I was here every day," Tim Unrein said. "We've had ups and downs, but we made it, you know? We made it," he shared.
On May 28, one year to the day everything was torn to shreds, the Unreins moved into the home they put back together.
"It means everything, you know? Just... it's still hard," Unrein said. "There's a lot of strong people around here. A lot of goodwill."
