So much of the story at Minnesota Twins spring training revolves around the players and the teams. They also call the area of Fort Myers home during much of February and March.
But it's also the recovery of Fort Myers since Hurricane Ian in September of 2022 devastated much of the area.
The WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar had an in-depth conversation about that with the Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers and Jeff Hauge, who's with the Parks Department. They both happen to be Minnesota natives.
Vineeta Sawkar: So we stepped away from Hammond Stadium and we are here at beautiful Fort Myers Beach. First of all, give us your Minnesota connection and how you got here.
Mayor Allers: Well, I was born and raised in Minnesota and I knew if I didn't leave before I turned 40 I probably was never going to leave. A friend of mine that had been vacationing here for a long time said 'I've got a spare room if you want to come and check it out.' So I came down and went over the bridge and never went back.
Sawkar: Your town has been through so much. I just can't even imagine what that was like, the rebuilding. When you look around here, there are still things that need to be done. But what gives you hope?
Mayor Allers: Well, just the people, you see how much, how many people are out here on the beach enjoying it. We've got great employees like Jeff that are working very hard to build it back. You know, every day, we want to try to strive to get something that gives people hope back. We could have very easily just mail it in after the storm. But anybody that knows Minnesotans, we don't really do that and neither do most of the people that are down here. Everyone that's down here is a hard worker and just wants to help their neighbors. So I think you're starting to see that. You're starting to see that not only we come through it, but we're really going to thrive.
Sawkar: Mayor, I look at Margaritaville (Resort) and I just think this is the anchor, this seems to be the anchor of the rebuilding?
Mayor Allers: The story behind Margaritaville is very long. What started out as something that nobody wanted is now the catalyst of the rebuild. It's kind of that tip of the spear if you will, that everybody is coming to enjoy and it's starting that fresh new, it's the newest building. It's the biggest building that's opened in a long time and the first one after the storm. So it's really given that hope and it's really given that determination for everybody to get on board.
Sawkar: Jeff give us your Minnesota connection. And then also what brought you down here and what you do here?
Jeff Hauge: I grew up in New Ulm, Minnesota, so southern Minnesota boy. Went to school at St. Cloud State and then raised my family, I have a nine-year old son, raised him in Elk River for a few years. Then we were visiting, my dad has a part-time place down here, so we're visiting him and on the flight home my son said 'we should just move there, dad. I love it.' So I'm like, ok, let's go.
Sawkar: Wow, what a nice dad.
Hauge: Yeah, that was great. So, we've been wanting to move down here for a while. I was just over 40. So not under 40 but just over 40 years old. So been down here for about 2.5 years working for the town and I just love the opportunity here and the rebuild. We were here during the storm so we can kind of see it after and then the rebuild is - it's incredible.
Sawkar: There's still areas you see, some trees down. I'm amazed at how much has been done but there are empty lots. Are there plans in place or how are things moving along?
Hauge: Yes. I mean, every day there's something going on. You can tell by the traffic, it's not only the tourist traffic but the construction vehicles that are coming in just working really hard to get it back. We're working with a lot of the lot owners to get rebuilt. So we're working on plans and planning. It just takes time. Some are still working on insurance, some are still working on FEMA. So I know they want to get back and we want to get these empty lots all taken care of, but it takes time. We're all working towards the same goal.
Sawkar: Mayor, I just saw the news that there was some FEMA aid that's going to be coming into Fort Myers and one other spot. Does that reach you guys here or is it to help clear debris?
Mayor Allers: Well, for the most part the debris has been hauled away. Jeff showed you before we started talking the size of the debris pile that we had in our 10-12 acre park. And so that part of it, for the most part is gone. Now, it's kind of that second phase. We've got, I think it's close to $200 million worth of projects that we'll be submitting through FEMA to try to get reimbursement for. And anyone that's had to deal with FEMA understands it's a very long process. So it's going to be ongoing for five, six, seven years probably. They're still dealing with it with (Hurricane) Katrina and that tells you how long things take. So this is not an overnight process. It's going to take a little bit of time, but we're all in it for the long haul.
Sawkar: People are yearning to get back here and you're a Minnesotan. What do you want to tell people back in Minnesota? There's so many Minnesotans who come down here for spring training and just a vacation. What should they expect when they come here and maybe even a year from now? What are they going to see?
Mayor Allers: Well, I think if anybody had been down here before the storm, your expectations should be tailored a little bit. We did take a catastrophic hurricane, but as you can see there, it's still that same funky vibe. We don't have the pier yet, but we're working on that. Businesses are opening. There's places to stay. The beach has not changed. The beach is still beautiful. The water is still beautiful so people can come down and still enjoy it. Go watch the Twins play, go watch Boston play. You can even go see Atlanta play if you want to really go up that far. So there's a bunch of things that you can do. Bike ride, walk, I mean, Sanibel is open, there's so many things that you can still do. Some of the places aren't open yet that maybe people (remember) that have been coming down here for years or decades. On the south end of the island, some of the stuff is still closed but there's still plenty to do. You won't be bored and like I said, the beach is still beautiful.
Sawkar: The beach is still gorgeous. It certainly is. And Jeff, when you think ahead to a year from now, what is in your mind as far as where you see the rebuild going?
Hauge: If you go to any of our council meetings, our LPA, our management planning meetings and people just want to rebuild. I mean, it's going to be bigger, it's going to be better. People are going to want to continue to come down and enjoy. The more rooms we have, the more excitement we have down here. As a town, we're working on our venues too to really get the visitors a good experience down here. Our employees are working to keep it clean and just a really vibrant area to be in. It's really cool on a week night to see everyone kind of milling around Times Square, Bayside Park, people playing softball in the field. So it's just a great atmosphere to be around and it's coming back.
Sawkar: Do you go to spring training at all Mayor? Do you catch some of the game?
Mayor Allers: I do, you know I'm a little busy now, so I don't get as much time to go and do it as I'd like. But if you're down on the beach on Tuesdays and the biggest Tuesdays and Thursdays, we've got a senior softball league that goes on down there. And their motto is they have two hours of playing two hours of drinking and two hours of napping. So if you want to come down and see the new field that the kids are playing on, they come down there, it's really fun to see the guys having a good time. Even though we can always get up there to watch the Twins play, we can watch them play on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Sawkar: One quick observation and I was kind of noticing it all over Fort Myers Beach, a lot of security. A lot of security here at Margaritaville, with the restaurants. Is that purposeful? And is there a real big reason for that? A concern at all?
Mayor Allers: No, I think we want to make sure it's a safe place for people to come and hang out and have fun. It was always safe before and it's going to be safe now. There's no real reason other than it's nice to have. Bad people are going to do bad things sometimes. But as long as they see that there's people there that can maybe take them away to places they don't want to go, it's always a nice deterrent to have. Lee County Sheriff's Office does a great job down here helping us out and patrolling the island and making sure that when people do come down to sit on the beach and get that tan that they're not too worried about having to walk home at night.
Sawkar: Any final message for Minnesotans thinking about coming down.
Hauge: I know you've been spending a lot of time in Hammond Stadium and we do as well as a family because obviously we're Twins fans and we love it. And the Twins and Major League Baseball helped us build a ballpark down here so that was a big shout out to them. They donated a lot of time and resources. Both the Twins and the Red Sox and Major League Baseball made it happen. That was one of our first things to come back was a ball field for the kids and they become Twins and Red Sox fans for sure. So, really looking forward to everything and getting down to spring training and spreading the word.
ED. NOTE: All of WCCO's broadcasts are presented by Lee County- "Islands and beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel", Sun Country Airlines and Margaritaville Resort Fort Myers Beach and Naples.