Round House welcomes residents back after May 21 tornado

KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WBAY) – Repairs are complete and residents are finally back this week, months after a tornado ripped the roof off the Round House Estate.

The Kaukauna apartment complex houses people with disabilities and the elderly.

An EF-1 tornado with wind speeds estimated at 95 mph cut a swath of more than a mile in four minutes in May of this year.

Janine Dodds is among 50 residents grateful to have returned to Round House Estates two days ago after the apartment complex was severely damaged by an EF-1 tornado in May. The night of the hurricane, Dodds returned home after spending time with friends shortly before the tornado hit.

“We got to our apartment and that’s when I heard the sound of a double-barreled shotgun coming through my window and I think it was a tree hitting the roof,” said Janine Dodds, a resident of Round House Estate.

The roof on that part of the building was previously completely ripped off by a tornado, but nearly five months later, residents can return to their homes and have a roof over their heads again.

The Round House estate hosted a “Tornado Survivors Welcome Home” party Wednesday to celebrate the return of its residents.

State and local leaders spoke at the celebration, as did a senior housing fund and American Red Cross first responders who helped in their time of need.

“It’s really cool to say that I’m a Kaukauna resident, to be able to come up and say, yeah, you know, I can say that I was a part of something in my city, but also saw my hometown step up to help their own community,” said Kevin Grondahl, disaster programs specialist for the American Red Cross.

“It means a lot to be able to come here and not only meet all the residents we knew so well again, but also see how far they have come and how they have really come together through it all. too,” said Audrey Erdmann, disaster program specialist for the American Red Cross.

Wendy Butkovich, Round House Manor’s services coordinator, says the support from the community has been overwhelming.

“People just started asking, ‘When can I get food?’ Where can I leave this?” so I have to thank all the community members who reached out through Facebook, lifting up our community. They brought us so much food, so much hygiene products, clothing and support. It was just incredible,” Butkovich said.

The Retirement Housing Foundation gave each resident $100 gift cards and donated $1,000 to Round House Manor to help renovate its community room.