SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The movie Twisters was schedule to play at the Winner Drive In Theater this weekend but after a storm ripped through the outdoor screen, that won’t happen.
“We are probably closed for the season for sure,” theater owner Austin Moser said on Tuesday. Moser and his wife Jill do plan to repair the movie screen, ticket office and other damage at the theater.
It will take time to repair the business but after the storm on Monday, the couple was already getting community support, Moser said.
“We’ve got all kinds of support,” Moser said. The local high school football team, a next door business, were among those who turned out to help clean up after the storm. Another local business has offered to do a fund-raising event, Moser said.
“You want to keep these things going in your town,” Winner resident and library director Misti Burns said of the drive-in theater and other businesses.
When the town learned the theater was damaged, “everybody was bummed about that. It’s a big item in the community,” Burns said. The theater draws locals but also residents of other communities, she said.
The Winner Drive-In Theater is one of five remaining in the state, according to Travel South Dakota. The five listed by the state’s tourism department are in Winner, Redfield, Miller, Mobridge and Gregory.
The Monday storm was not a tornado or twister but KELOLAND meteorologists said it did have high winds which caused damage to buildings. Meteorologist Scot Mundt said wind gusts reached 80 mph.
To Burns, “it came so quickly. It was calm and you could see the clouds coming in from the west.”
Moser was out-of-town on Monday but Jill and the children were at home, which is on the theater property. Moser said he told the family to go the basement. The family and the house were safe, he said.
As quickly as the storm seemed to arrive it was over, Burns said.
Large trees, several businesses and other property were damaged, Burns said. The city pool was also damaged.
Moser wasn’t in town but saw photos of the damage including a photo where boards were pushed through the side of a building.
The screen of the theater comes in several pieces that are attached to supports, he said. Those will need to be replaced.
The Mosers bought the drive-in theater in 2023, he said. It typically closes for the season in early September. It is closed on Mondays during the open season. Moser noted that the theater just had a busy weekend with the movies Twisters and Deadpool & Wolverine.
Burns said the town has been talking about the drive-in-theater including recalling that it was damaged in a high wind several years ago. That time there was no storm, Burns said, and the damage was different.
