Derecho forces Marion business owner to relocate to a different city

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - A downtown Marion business owner opened its doors again after being destroyed in the August 10th derecho, but it opened in a new city.

Korrina Dawson, the owner of ReAlive Metaphysical, was back to doing what she loved, selling holistic medicine and spiritual stones after being closed for two months.

“It was awesome to be able to reopen,” Dawson said. “I have twice the space and more parking now. It might be a blessing in disguise.”

Water completely damaged her stock of books, and the ceiling started to collapse. She knew she needed to find a new storefront. However, he couldn’t find the right building to meet her needs. She moved from her downtown Marion location to the Cedar Rapids Southwest side.

“It was hard to find something that wasn’t too big, or too small, and fight my budget,” she said.

Though Dawson said she never contemplated giving up her dream shop, she said it did take support from her friends, family, and loyal customers to reach a point where she could reopen her doors once again.

“Anything is possible when you put the work in,” She said. “It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but there was success in that too.”

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