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Flattened by tornado, Taopi refuses to stay down
Town Clerk Jim Kiefer says the council feared everyone would leave the community of 61 residents, but when one family decided to rebuild, the rest followed.
TAOPI, Minn. — Sometimes a community doesn’t find out what it’s made of until adversity hits… hard.
The small southern Minnesota city of Taopi received what could have been a knockout punch on April 12, 2022, when an EF2 tornado roared through under cover of darkness. Daylight revealed complete destruction, with only three buildings in the entire community spared damage.
“Half the town is gone,” City Clerk Jim Kiefer shared the day after the tornado. He told reporters of Taopi’s 22 homes, at least 10 were beyond repair with entire roofs and walls missing.
Anniversaries are a time of reflection, and twelve months after that terrible day residents see a community that refused to stay down, a place that is looking ahead rather than in the rear-view mirror.
“We’re in pretty good shape,” Kiefer reflected in a conversation with KARE 11 on the one-year anniversary of the tornado. “Come a long way in the past year.”
The comeback story started almost immediately when the city council started holding daily meetings with most of Taopi’s 61 residents for the first two weeks, keeping them in the loop on donations, rescue funds, contractor availability and just about every other topic. Decisions were made in the light, with transparency.
Kiefer says local builders dropped less pressing jobs to repair damaged homes in Taopi, and homeowners agreed that those whose structures were hardest hit and unliveable received priority.
Money can be a wedge in times of trouble, and yet Kiefer says there were no squabbles when it came to allocating $270,000 in donations Taopi received from generous Minnesotans and other benefactors. The money was split into three tiers: those whose homes were unliveable, those badly damaged but habitable, and residents whose homes and businesses were less impacted.
Twelve months after the tornado, Taopi’s city clerk figures the population is down to 45 from the 61 registered in the census, but says that’s partially due to two or three families that were displaced whose new homes are just being completed. That’s pretty good, Kiefer figured… as the council originally feared everyone would leave. That changed when one resident announced they would be rebuilding, and others followed suit.
Four or five lots in town remain empty, the homes that once stood in them a distant memory. A new Taopi Town Hall, just remodeled when the tornado flattened it, is still in the planning stages and Kiefer says council meetings are currently held in the kitchen of Mayor Mary Huntley (who just happens to be his sister).
It is also true that from times of darkness can come the unexpected light of humanity. Taopi is rising again, mainly powered by the goodwill of small-town neighbors who decided to get closer instead of letting a moment of disaster pry them apart.
“Before the tornado, everyone lived their own life,” Kiefer reflected. “After the tornado, you saw everybody every day, and now I really know them.”
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MADISON, Wis. — Overall enrollment in the Universities of Wisconsin system’s four-year schools ticked upward this fall compared with last year, data released Tuesday shows.
The system released enrollment numbers as of the 10th day of the 2024 fall semester. They show overall enrollment stood at 164,431 students, up 1.2% from the 10th day of the 2023 fall semester.
UW-Green Bay saw 975 new students for a 10.5% increase in enrollment, the largest percentage jump among the 13 four-year schools. Enrollment at UW-Madison, the system’s flagship university, increased nearly 3%. UW-Superior, the most remote campus, in Douglas County in far northwestern Wisconsin, saw a 3.6% increase.
Five schools saw their enrollment shrink, including Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville and Stout.
Overall enrollment at the system’s two-year branch campuses fell 22%. The most dramatic drop-off was at UW-Stevens Point’s Marshfield campus, where enrollment plunged nearly 45% compared with fall 2023.
UW officials have blamed declining numbers of high school graduates and more graduates eschewing college for the workforce for faltering enrollment.
An adult male was arrested after the incident.
ANOKA, Minn. — A student was stabbed in the hand at Anoka Technical College Tuesday, authorities said.
A spokesperson with the Anoka Police Department told KARE 11 that officers were dispatched early in the afternoon. At the school, it was learned a student was stabbed in the hand with a screwdriver.
An adult male was taken into custody, officials said. The student was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Anoka Technical College said in a statement that safety and security is the top priority for everyone on campus:
Just before noon today, an incident occurred between two students at Anoka Technical College, in the automotive lab, resulting in one of the students receiving an injury to the hand. The Anoka Police Department responded and took the suspect into custody. The victim was treated by on-campus security officers before going to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment.
At Anoka Technical College, our top priority is the safety and security of everyone on campus. This incident is being investigated by the college and local law enforcement. Support services are available for students and employees impacted by this situation.
The BCA said the 40-year-old man was still hospitalized at Regions Hospital on Tuesday.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Police have identified the man shot and injured by officers after pointing a gun at police on Monday evening.
According to a press release from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Earl Bennett, 40, was shot by police near Allianz Field.
Officials said Bennett does not have a permanent address but has been staying in the Twin Cities Metro area.
Bennett is hospitalized in critical but stable condition at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
The incident started just before 7:45 p.m. Monday when police were called to the 400 block of Pierce Street for reports of shots fired. Officers found a man with a handgun when they responded to the scene.
St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster told reporters on Monday night that when officers approached the man, he put the gun to his own head. Police began to negotiate with the man for a peaceful surrender, but he reportedly refused to drop the weapon, instead walking south on Snelling Avenue.
Police attempted to use “less lethal” means to subdue Bennett, but when he lifted his handgun and pointed it at police, multiple officers fired their weapons, striking the suspect.
The BCA said it is in the early stages of its investigation.
All the officers who discharged their weapons have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
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