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'I'm a survivor': 71-year-old Marshalltown woman remains positive on day 14 without power

Linda Clark says the 2018 tornado prepared her for the worst, and she's hopeful she'll get lights back on any day now.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Decked in leopard print from head to toe—sunglasses, dress, and shoes—Linda Clark is sure a character.

"Oh, my leopards!" she exclaimed Monday. "Every zoo animal is important to me."

It's her character--one of survival, positivity, and faith in God--that keeps her cheerful, even as she goes on day 14 with no power.

"I'm a survivor," she said. "God bless my daughter, when she got her lights, she let me borrow her generator, so that's what I am running now."

The generator is powering Linda's fridge, but she still has no light in her home. When she goes around the house, the 71-year-old carries a flashlight and wears a hard hat. She said she learned the hard way.

"I learned my lesson, because I smacked myself with a tree while I was working!" said Clark. "And so now I have to be a little more careful. People, we have to use safety. Always!"

Linda says her electric meter is outdated and damaged, and she had to hire a private electrician to replace it before Alliant Energy could restore power. The electrician showed up Monday to take measurements, and she says within a few days, he should be back to fix it entirely.

"So that's real positive, he's been working very hard! I was 250 on the list when I first checked with him," she said. "So I've been really positive about that!"

For now, she spends time sprucing up her backyard garden, which sustained some damage to the storm. Backyard, where she says monarch butterflies migrate through, Linda has a Wildlife Memorial Sanctuary. It's dedicated to her late grandson, Chase Clark, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 22 in a car accident.

"He was always very positive, too," she said. 

WATCH: Complete derecho coverage from Local 5 on YouTube

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