ForConstructionPros.com

Randy Happel, features writer
Two Rivers Marketing

At 4:59 p.m. in Parkersburg, Iowa an EF-5 tornadostruck. Packing winds estimated by the National Weather Service in excess of 200 miles per hour, it was the most devastating twister to strike the Hawkeye state in more than 30 years, unleashing a 43-mile path of destruction spanning three counties. Eight people died. Parkersburg took the biggest hit - 282 homes demolished, another 400 heavily damaged and 23 businesses lost including City Hall, the town's only grocery store and gas station and Aplington-Parkersburg High School.

Rebuilding
There was never a question that the resilient folks of Parkersburg would rebuild.

By sunrise the next morning, fleets of construction equipment had arrived and cleanup was underway. School administrators assembled to begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding the high school. Shortly thereafter, architects were commissioned to submit bids for rebuilding the school. Design specifications were to include two noteworthy features: geothermal heating / cooling and a lower-level storm shelter - just as a precaution.

Superintendent Jon Thompson said the decision to go geothermal made sense on several fronts. He and the five other committee members who led the rebuilding planning process researched as many options as possible given the short timeframe.

A-One Geothermal, based in Earlham, Iowa, was selected to install the geothermal system after participating in an extensive bidding process. Founded in 1975, the family-owned business has a long track record installing geothermal systems. A-One got its start installing water and sewer lines. In the 1990s the company expanded services to include fiber optic installations using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) installation methods.

Over the years, founder and vice president, Dale McNair, had always been intrigued by the geothermal concept and had taken the initiative to learn more about it. When the fiber optic market went bust in early 2000, McNair had become a geothermal specialist and decided to make it his core business.