Sandbag & sump pump shopping spree

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Many local families are stepping out of their rain-soaked homes for an emergency trip to their neighborhood hardware store.

Jesse Neyens is on a mission of mercy purchasing a sump pump for his brother who has 8-inches of water in his basement at Ellsworth, MN.

“And he said he had water coming into his basement faster than his sump pump could pump it. So I was told to go grab another one for him because he’s having a hard time even making it to town with all the road closures,” Neyens said.

Neyens says he’s not too particular what kind of sump pump to buy. He’s just glad he found them in stock.

“Oh man! Sump pumps are going crazy today. So we’re selling a lot of sump pumps. We’re selling a lot of the battery backups for the sump pumps and more hose we can get in as fast as we can,” 41st & Minnesota Ace Hardware Store Leader Jared Leckner said.

An emergency shipment of sump pumps, hoses, shop vacs and other supplies came in overnight from Wisconsin.

“All freight will be going to stores in Sioux Falls so all Ace Hardwares will be in stock here in the next couple of hours,” Leckner said.

In the front of the store, there are plenty of sandbags stacked up for customers to protect their property as the rain keeps coming.

“A lot of people want to use them to help alleviate the flooding around their driveways and their perimeters so they’re perfect for that one. We have sand tubes that are perfectly rolled for the round amount, they’re about six-feet long,” Leckner said.

Ace had sold dozens of the sandbags by mid-morning. They expect the fresh shipments arriving will help them keep up with demand from customers who are trying to keep up with all the rain.

Ace keeps sandbags in stock year-round because a lot of customers use them for added weight for their vehicles during the wintertime.