Lights on in Shellsburg Thanks to Massive Sandbagging Effort

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By Daren Sukhram

Story Created: Aug 27, 2009 at 4:59 PM CST

Story Updated: Aug 27, 2009 at 10:02 PM CST

SHELLSBURG - The lights are still on in Shellsburg thanks to a massive sandbagging effort.

"We're trying to sandbag it to keep the water out. If the power station goes out, the town loses power," said Brad Leichsenring with the Shellsburg fire department.

Wildcat Creek in Shellsburg went wild, and sandbaggers had to build a wall to protect an Alliant Energy substation.

Water also flooded basements, including that of one woman who moved to Shellsburg from Cedar Rapids after last year's flood.

"Because they say it never does this in Shellsburg and we decided to buy a house on a hill and now we're dealing with a flooded basement," said resident Shannon Gardemann.

Water also made it over the downtown bridge in Shellsburg, closing the bridge.

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