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After a destructive storm hit Brainerd, Minn. hard on Sunday night, Madden’s resort and Cragun’s resort had to temporarily close for business.
Cragun’s on Gull Lake is not letting anyone else in except power and cleanup crews as they scramble to hopefully reopen late next week. Even from the edges, it’s impressive to see the damage at the resort.
One of the biggest issues at Cragun’s is electricity. But once that’s restored they hope to reopen in five to seven days.
“We were very fortunate, we’re mostly dealing with trees and power lines,” employee Nancy Krasean said. “We have a couple of roofs, but structurally for the most part nothing got touched. We were thrilled.”
Next door at Madden’s Resort, the damage to buildings is a bit worse. Some are being repaired right now but some will have to wait. The clean-up is a huge task, but the goal is to mostly reopen by July 20.
“The property’s been around for 86 years and I don’t think it’s ever seen this type of damage,” Madden’s employee Kathy Reichenbach said.
Meantime, a strong message was sent from the Chambers of Commerce, who worry the pictures of damage will scare people away. Most of the region was untouched, and they can direct you to a lot of smaller resorts who would love the business.
“We have an entire area that’s still full of pristine lakes and things to do,” Matt Kilian, Brainerd Lakes Chamber, said. "You might be tempted to think the whole Brainerd lakes area is a disaster zone, but I’m here to tell you that’s not the case."
As far as Cragun’s goes, they say if you’ve got reservations late next week or beyond the best thing you can do is give them a little time and call on Monday to find out when they’ll be reopening.