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'Grandma Dixie' returns home on one-year anniversary of EF-4 tornado

'Grandma Dixie' returns home on one-year anniversary of EF-4 tornado
THANK YOU SO MUCH. YEAH. THANK YOU. OVER THE PAST YEAR, THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS STORIES OF RESILIENCY. AND ONE IS THAT ONE OF THOSE STORIES IS OF GRANDMA DIXIE, AN UNBELIEVABLE WOMAN WHO WAS RESCUED FROM THE RUBBLE OF HER DESTROYED HOME. KCCI HAS BEEN FOLLOWING HER ROAD TO RECOVERY. ONLY ON KCCI AFFILIATE JACOBSON WAS WITH HER TODAY AS SHE PAID A VISIT TO THE TOWN. ONE YEAR LATER, OPHELIA. WELL, BEN AND STACEY, IT WAS AN EMOTIONAL DAY FOR DIXIE DINGMAN, BETTER KNOWN AS GRANDMA DIXIE. THIS IS WHERE HER HOUSE USED TO BE. AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS NOW GONE. NOW, A MEMORIAL SITS HERE TO COMMEMORATE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED ON MAY 21ST, 2024. AND WE WERE WITH GRANDMA DIXIE THIS AFTERNOON AS SHE SAW THIS MEMORIAL FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE SIMPLE SOUND OF BELLS RINGING BRINGS TEARS TO GRANDMA DIXIE鈥橲 EYES. THESE BELLS REPRESENT A MOMENT IN TIME. IT BRINGS BACK ALL THE MEMORIES OF OF THE STORM. THE FEAR BEFORE AND WHEN HER LIFE CHANGED FOREVER. ONE YEAR LATER, THIS STREET REALLY GETS MY HEART. BECAUSE THIS IS MY STREET. GRANDMA DIXIE IS RETURNING TO THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL HAPPENED. IT鈥橲 HER FIFTH TIME BACK SINCE THE DAY OF THE STORM. I HAVE TO COME BACK AND REJOICE. IN WHAT? AND SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE. THE MERE SIGHT OF THIS PIECE OF LAND. MY HOUSE SET LIKE THIS IN MY GARAGE, WAS RIGHT HERE. LEAVES HER SPEECHLESS. IT鈥橲 REALLY WEIRD. IT TAKES MY BREATH AWAY IN ONE MINUTE. HER HOUSE WAS REDUCED TO RUBBLE AND SHE WAS BEING PULLED OUT OF IT. THERE鈥橲 NO WAY TO EVER THANK EVERYBODY. IT鈥橲 SO BIG. ONLY. ONLY GOD CAN DO THAT. GRANDMA DIXIE SUFFERED A BROKEN BACK. TEN BROKEN RIBS AND A CRACKED STERNUM. NOW SHE鈥橲 BACK ON HER TWO FEET, STANDING IN FRONT OF A MEMORIAL THAT MARKS A DAY SHE鈥橪L NEVER FORGET. I THINK THAT鈥橲 PRECIOUS. AND I FEEL HONORED THAT IT鈥橲 ON THE PROPERTY WHERE I USED TO LIVE. IN A PLACE THAT WILL ALWAYS FEEL LIKE HOME. A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE THAT DAY. OH, THIS IS SO DIFFERENT. GRANDMA DIXIE IS STILL SEARCHING FOR PHOTOS DISPLACED BY THE TORNADO. AND THIS IS A LOT OF PICTURES, BUT IT鈥橲 THE LITTLE THINGS. LIKE A HUG FROM A FAMILIAR FACE. I THINK ABOUT YOU. OR A WALK OUTSIDE. I鈥橫 WALKING 3 TO 4 MILES A DAY THAT REMIND HER OF GOD鈥橲 NEVER CHANGING FAITHFULNESS. IT鈥橲 ONLY BECAUSE OF GOD, AND I WANT TO GIVE HIM ALL THE GLORY. IN GRANDMA. DIXIE WILL NOT BE MOVING BACK TO GREENFIELD. SHE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO HER NEW PLACE IN ANKENY NEXT MONTH, TO BE CLOSER TO FAMILY. SHE鈥橲 BEEN LIVING WITH HER DAUGHTER EVER SINCE THE STORM OUT IN GILBERT. SHE SAYS SHE鈥橲 EXCITED TO HAVE HER OWN HOME ONCE AGAIN. LIVE IN GREENFIELD. OPHELIA JACOBSON, KCCI EIGHT NEWS. IOWA鈥橲 NEWS LEADER. REALLY SPECIAL STORY WITH OPHELIA AND PHOTOJOURNALIST DYLAN KUHN. WE HAVE MANY WONDERFUL STORIES TO SHARE WITH YOU ABOUT THE PROGRESS MADE BY PEOPLE IN GREENFIELD OVER THE PAST YEAR. WE COMPILED A FEW OF THEM FOR OUR HALF HOUR SPECIAL THIS EVENING, GREENFIELD STRONG. ONE YEAR LATER. YOU CAN WATCH IT IN FULL ON OUR WEBSITE, OUR APP, OR B
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'Grandma Dixie' returns home on one-year anniversary of EF-4 tornado
Dixie Dingman, better known as "Grandma Dixie," returned to Greenfield, Iowa, for the fifth time Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a deadly EF-4 tornado that tore through town.Grandma Dixie was inside her home when the storm rolled through. Her house was leveled, and she was found buried under the rubble. She suffered a broken back, 10 broken ribs, and a cracked sternum on May 21. She soon underwent a spinal fusion at the Iowa Clinic.Less than three months after being severely injured, she was already back on her feet, walking and lifting weights. Doctors called her swift recovery a miracle. "I had to come back and rejoice and see what God has done," she said.She drove to where her house used to stand. Now, it's an empty lot on the corner of the street. A memorial was built there to commemorate the day of the storm, the lives lost and all of the volunteers that helped in the days after."That's precious," Grandma Dixie said. "I feel honored that it's the property where I used to live."Video below: Remembering lives lost in 2024 tornadoGrandma Dixie also stopped by the library to look for photos that may have been displaced by the tornado. She didn't find any, but she was happy to see some familiar faces near the town square as she was walking around."There's no way to ever thank everybody. It's so big, only God can do that," she said. "It's only because of God, and I want to give him all the glory."Grandma Dixie will not move back to Greenfield. She wants to be closer to family. She is expected to move into her new home in Ankeny, Iowa, next month. She's been living with her daughter in Gilbert since the storm. She said she is excited to have her own place once again.
GREENFIELD, Iowa —

Dixie Dingman, better known as "Grandma Dixie," returned to Greenfield, Iowa, for the fifth time Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a deadly EF-4 tornado that tore through town.

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Grandma Dixie was inside her home when the storm rolled through. Her house was leveled, and she was found buried under the rubble. She . She soon underwent a spinal fusion at the Iowa Clinic.

Less than three months after being severely injured, she was already back on her feet, walking and lifting weights. Doctors called her swift recovery a miracle.

"I had to come back and rejoice and see what God has done," she said.

She drove to where her house used to stand. Now, it's an empty lot on the corner of the street. A memorial was built there to commemorate the day of the storm, the lives lost and all of the volunteers that helped in the days after.

"That's precious," Grandma Dixie said. "I feel honored that it's the property where I used to live."

Video below: Remembering lives lost in 2024 tornado

Grandma Dixie also stopped by the library to look for photos that may have been displaced by the tornado. She didn't find any, but she was happy to see some familiar faces near the town square as she was walking around.

"There's no way to ever thank everybody. It's so big, only God can do that," she said. "It's only because of God, and I want to give him all the glory."

Grandma Dixie will not move back to Greenfield. She wants to be closer to family. She is expected to move into her new home in Ankeny, Iowa, next month. She's been living with her daughter in Gilbert since the storm. She said she is excited to have her own place once again.