KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and SportsIowa town hit by tornado honors graduating seniors
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PARKERSBURG, Iowa (AP) -- Nearly a year after a tornado ripped apart their town and their school, the Aplington-Parkersburg High School class of 2009 has graduated.
Because of damage to the high school, the seniors finished their final year at an elementary school.
On Sunday, they received their diplomas.
Graduation is usually held in the high school gym, but the gym collapsed when the tornado hit. Instead, Sunday's ceremony was held outdoors at the Falcon's football field.
If construction stays on schedule, the class of 2010 will finish their final year in a new $18 million high school. The classrooms should be ready by mid-August.
The EF5 tornado that tore through Parkersburg on May 25, 2008, spun a 43-mile path of destruction through three counties and killed eight people.
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