i don't, because i do feel like taylor is better today than when i met him the first time, and ultimately, that's the satisfaction that i need. ♪ i'll take you to a historic town on the mississippi river crippled by a catastrophic flood. reporter: illinois national guard has been called into grafton to help with the flooding. man: this is probably going to be the second worst flood of all time. lemonis: grafton, illinois, just outside of st. louis, missouri, has experienced the worst flood to hit its community in over 25 years. oh, my god. this is, like, heart-breaking. i'm marcus lemonis, and i want to see it for myself and really understand how small towns in america recover from a disaster like this. is this worse than you thought it was gonna be? peter: this is brutal. lemonis: something like this make you want to call it quits? oliver: yes.

lemonis: there's massive devastation... this is a street. ...an entire main street underwater. oh, my goodness. i met the mayor. we toured the city the only way we could, by boat... it's okay. ...roads closed and businesses wiped out... look at this. kim: oh, my god. lemonis: ...a severe burden on the local economy. peter: so i'm on the city council, and so we are gonna have some serious budget problems like never seen before. lemonis: and with relentless rain, well, it's paralyzed this town. man #2: what i was afraid of. lemonis: as for the people who live here, they've had enough. how do you recover from a disaster like this and restore enough hope that people who live here don't abandon everything? ♪ ♪ the reason that i wanted to come to the mississippi river is,

as i think about it, it almost feels like the most important freeway in america, right? it goes from minnesota all the way down to new orleans. it's how farmers transport things. it's how ships get up and down throughout the country, and it's, quite frankly, maybe even a more efficient way to travel. what i wanted to understand is how this river is being impacted by natural disasters. now, it's been seven weeks since the mississippi river flooded this town, and what i saw shocked me. i mean, look. talk about devastating. where this road is, there's a boat. katherine: i'm along main street here in grafton, and i've got to show you this. right now, many homes and businesses are flooded, including the popular loading dock restaurant. lemonis: this town relies on summer business to keep it alive. we're a third through the summer. water is 30-feet-plus high, and this has been here for almost seven weeks?

they haven't experienced any commerce. reporter #2: grafton mayor rick eberlin is in the fight of his life trying to hold back the mississippi river floodwaters from swallowing up his town. lemonis: i wanted to understand how people in this community have been affected and how i can help this town get back on its feet. hi, there. rick: hi, marcus. lemonis: how are you? rick: rick. i'm good, and you? lemonis: what is your name? rick: rick. lemonis: rick, are you the mayor? rick: i'm the mayor, sir. lemonis: how long have you been the mayor? rick: two-plus years now. lemonis: first flood you've had? rick: fourth flood i've had. lemonis: okay. you had the governor here yesterday? rick: we had the governor here. this is a crisis. lemonis: what makes it a crisis or not a crisis? is it the level of water? rick: level of water, the businesses affected. they're 80% off on their revenues from last year or 100%, as in the case with some of them that haven't even been able to open. lemonis: and they make their acorns right now? rick: right now, yep. lemonis: grafton's economy relies heavily on tourism, and an 80% loss of revenue to any business

is enough to force them to close their doors. rick: if they don't get some sort of assistance, they will go belly-up. what we're seeing here is more issues of man-made. the corps, you know, they haven't had the ability to dredge. when i was a kid, you'd see dredges come up and down the river, you know, two to three times once every two to three years. lemonis: is that just giving the river depth? rick: give it more depth and width. you know, the inability to dredge like they used to dredge, you know... lemonis: why is it an inability? rick: i think it's just their budget, that they just don't have enough to go around. the average graftonian, you know, they got tired of fighting this, and they took buyouts and walked away. lemonis: buyouts from who? rick: federal government, and that's what's hurting grafton now. lemonis: jesus, look at that. rick: we have these properties that we can never do anything with as a city because once you accept a buyout, it can never be commercialized again. lemonis: can you buy them back from the government? rick: can't buy them back, and that's all we want. lemonis: when they have a flood, fema,

the federal emergency management agency, comes in and buys properties from the property owner, and then the federal government owns the property, and locally, nothing can be done with it. i'm looking at house after house, business after business that are closed and underwater and wondering, "if fema buys all these properties, what's left of the town?" rick: we don't want handouts here. we just want a helping hand. ♪ ♪ lemonis: it's okay. this emotional moment was pretty pivotal because i never intended to stay in grafton and make this a summer-long project, but as i sit here with the mayor, and i see the sincerity, it really does prompt me to think, "who's gonna take the initiative?

how do these towns work? is this just gonna become a ghost town?" rick: it's been a strain. lemonis: i wanted to walk the town and meet some of the business owners and understand exactly what they're going through, so i started with oliver, a veteran who owns a local fish market. oliver, i'm marcus. oliver: marcus? glad to know you, marcus. lemonis: nice to meet you, sir. how long have you been in town? oliver: i've been here all my life. lemonis: how many floods have you been through? oliver: all of them. you see, back in the '70s, we had the '73 flood. that was 33 feet. and then we had the '93 flood. that was 38 feet. lemonis: like many towns up and down the mississippi river, grafton experiences floods from time to time. the residents usually recover. it's considered a flood at 18 feet or more above sea level, and now, seven weeks in, the water has only dropped 1 foot from its peak of 35 feet. the full damage of loss of revenue and structure repair

have yet to be determined and won't be until the water levels come down. is that your business right there? oliver: that's my business. uh-huh. we fry fish for people. i've been in the business 52 years. lemonis: wow. oliver: i spent three years in the army. lemonis: thank you for your service, by the way. oliver: and when i come out, i went into business in 1967. lemonis: what's a good day? what a good day dollar-wise? oliver: $1,000, but we've lost mother's day and memorial day. lemonis: mother's day is typically a major revenue driver for this community, and oliver's business, like many other businesses, was closed that day. does something like this make you want to call it quits? oliver: if i was younger, no, but you get to the age on me? yes. lemonis: wow. oliver is similar to a lot of people here in grafton. he's losing hope, and the loss of hope to an individual or a town can be devastating.

next, i wanted to check out the loading dock, a popular tourist destination. peter: marcus. lemonis: how you doing, sir? peter: how do you do? nice to meet you, sir. lemonis: it wasn't easy to get here. peter: well, route 3 takes you right into the river at this point. the water is almost three blocks from where it should be. lemonis: what is this building? peter: this is my building. this is the old grafton boat works that we turned into a bar. lemonis: what was it originally? peter: it was the grafton boat works. dates back to 1899. lemonis: uh-huh? peter: probably 80, 90 years of boat-making history here. we have seating for 800 people... lemonis: whoa. peter: ...mostly outside. this whole south side of the building is decks and patio. when we're packed, there'll be 1,000 people in there. so it's... people have to travel. it's a destination. the attraction of my business is the proximity to the water. as you know, in all the beautiful places, people want to sit on the water. yeah. it's a calculated risk being here. the good news is, this warehouse, it's all brick-and-mortar. there's nothing permeable. there's no drywall. there's no carpet.

all the outlets are up 6 feet high. lemonis: when's your... when's high season for you? peter: flea markets... high season is april through october. lemonis: like, right now? peter: yeah. lemonis: and so what sort of revenue are you losing for every week that you're not open? peter: i would say $80,000. lemonis: and how long has it been like this? peter: we've been closed for seven weeks now. lemonis: really? peter: yeah, yeah. lemonis: so you're already out half a million dollars? peter: i would think so. yep. and this town survives on sales tax. there's really no other revenue. there's no other industry in town other than tourism, and i'm also an alderman. so i'm on the city council, and so we are gonna have some serious budget problems like never seen before. so i'm not sure how that's gonna work out. lemonis: peter told me he employs 80 people. that's a lot of people displaced without work. i was starting to really doubt myself like, "what have i gotten myself into? how can i even help these people?" i can't in good conscience just drive away. ♪

♪ how are you doing, my man? rick: thanks for coming back. appreciate it. lemonis: while i was thinking about it, it really became more about the potential extinction of a community in america, but i couldn't just throw money at it. money wasn't gonna fix it. i'd have to dig in and set an example and bring in volunteers and roll up my sleeves, and i was taking on this herculean task that had a high risk of failure. and i think that challenge, along with helping people, was probably my motivation. so the water, even here, looks better, yeah? rick: tremendously, yeah. lemonis: yeah. rick: it's down over 6 feet now, you know, when you were here last. lemonis: oh, this was all underwater. rick: oh, yeah, absolutely. lemonis: oh, but it's still there. rick: yeah. lemonis: what's the good word, my man? peter: hi, marcus. ready for a boat ride? lemonis: yeah, man. peter: alright. lemonis: are we going out to your spot? peter: we are.

lemonis: you think it's going to drop again today? rick: yes. it'll drop another foot by the morning, i think. lemonis: is that mud line where the... how high the water was? rick: yep, yep. ♪ ♪ lemonis: aye-yi-yi. peter: no sign of any beer coolers? man #3: no. peter: all of our beer coolers were sitting on top of here. they're gone. this is brutal. lemonis: is this worse than you thought it was gonna be? peter: i...well, i think that's safe to say, but most of it will clean up. lemonis: you just power-wash the [bleep] out of it. peter: daunting. yeah. lemonis: i kept asking people what the backup plan was if the water didn't subside, and over and over again, they would tell me not to worry. nine weeks later, the water is still here,

and i hope peter can recover quickly. the 80 people who work here can't afford this business to be closed. ♪ rick: i don't like those sky colors. lemonis: feel like now you're gonna get more rain? rick: yeah. lemonis: the storm looks nasty. looks like a hurricane is coming. this town and its businesses are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. this storm is a gut punch. rick: holy cow! lemonis: come on. let's get inside. rick: not good, what i was afraid of. lemonis: the flood is coming back? rick: nope, not coming back, but it's gonna sit now for four or five days. lemonis: it's gonna stay like this? rick: it's gonna make it that much more difficult. lemonis: coming up, mother nature won't let up. the water was how high? up to there?

dan: yeah. brenda: oh! lemonis: oh, my god. this is, like, heartbreaking. i'm looking to buy a building here. i'm putting my money on this town. athat will have you seeingf with adouble.n iphone 11 lemonis: imagine for a moment in your town -- all on t-mobile's newest, most powerful signal. get twice the deal, with 2 lines of unlimited for $90 and 2 iphone 11s on us. only at t-mobile.

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no roads, no visitors, businesses closed for months.

we didn't get to meet. i'm marcus. kim: very nice to meet you. thank you for being here. lemonis: and you're kim? kim: yes. lemonis: i want to understand what businesses are affected and what it's gonna take to get them open, so kim, who's the mayor's wife and also owns an ice cream shop, is gonna walk me through town. how long have you been married to rick? kim: i would say since 2003, 15 years. lemonis: yeah, he's a good guy. kim: he is a good guy. lemonis: when did you guys buy this building? kim: 2011 when i bought the ice cream shop. lemonis: and it's been good to you? kim: yes, very good. lemonis: except not... kim: yeah. it's been rough. i'm fortunate not to have water, but i'm still down by 80%. lemonis: you are? kim: yes. lemonis: in the summer, if the flood wasn't here, what would today be like revenue-wise? kim: probably about $2,800, between $2,800 and $3,500. lemonis: wow. kim: and so now we're back to the bank, borrowing more money. lemonis: you are? kim: absolutely. lemonis: just to keep the doors open? kim: yes, yes. lemonis: i'd like to walk the town with you. kim: okay. oh, i haven't looked inside here yet.

lemonis: this? kim: i manage this guest house. lemonis: this one? kim: yeah. so it was built in 1836 for the first mayor. hi. lemonis: oh, my goodness gracious. kim: oh, my god. oh, my gosh. woman: it's awful. kim: [ gasps ] lemonis: oh, my god. this is, like, heart-breaking. kim: it was beautiful. lemonis: the water was how high in here? kim: it was up to where the wall is cut out. this is all original flooring. lemonis: oh, my gosh. the floors are totally destroyed. kim: this place was booked all the way through the middle of july. lemonis: marcus. dan: dan, dan bechtold. lemonis: nice to meet you, sir. dan: my pleasure. lemonis: this is your house? dan: yes. kim: he owns this house, and he owns the woodshop. dan: over there we lost the furnace, the hot water heater, 200-amp service. lemonis: flood insurance? do you have flood insurance? dan: no, on neither place. lemonis: so this is out of your pocket? dan: out of my pocket. lemonis: what do you think it'll cost you here? dan: oh, i'd venture, say, $20,000. lemonis: in a lot of places like this with a history of floods, you may not be able to buy an insurance policy. there may not be a carrier or company

who is even willing to provide a policy. this is the front of the woodshop? dan: yeah. lemonis: how much inventory do you think you lost? dan: $60,000. lemonis: the water was how high? up to there? dan: yeah, there. lemonis: well, it's receded pretty good. dan: oh, yeah. lemonis: but we're also still on main street. dan: yeah, we're on main. lemonis: this building feel... what's it made of, cinder? dan: concrete blocks. lemonis: so that's gonna be fine. dan: yeah. we'll be back. we'll make it. lemonis: yeah. dan: it's... i've had rougher times. lemonis: grafton, illinois, has had floods before, very few like this, and although most of main street is underwater, there is a small stretch that isn't underwater. what is that? kim: hmm? that's tare's market. lemonis: has it always looked like that? kim: yes. lemonis: when it comes to flooding, this is the least vulnerable section of town,

yet strangely the worst cared-for. the key to rebuilding this city is to invest in areas that are less susceptible to flooding, to put the money in the real estate that you know will be the least affected. hi, there. alison: hi, marcus. lemonis: i'm marcus. alison: great to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you. what is your name? alison: alison rohan. lemonis: nice to meet you. in order to do that, i wanted to see if there was an opportunity for me to invest in some properties and bring it up to a standard that i think is right, and maybe people will follow this example on their own properties. so you have this building? alison: i do. my sister and i own it. my parents bought it in the '70s. lemonis: oh, wow. alison: and normally this town is booming. lemonis: and what about now? alison: we don't have any business right now. lemonis: zero? alison: no. yeah, no business. lemonis: can i go inside? alison: absolutely. come on in. lemonis: so is the building for sale right now? alison: it is. lemonis: and how much are you asking for it? alison: $179,000.

lemonis: wow. why do you want to leave? alison: i'm tired. you do get tired, but i love this town, so i won't leave. lemonis: one of the financial experiments i wanted to test is follow-the-leader. i wanted to know if i invested in property, can i attrt other people to invest in the town as well? if more people invest in property, it would stabilize the real-estate market, and with a more stabilized real-estate market, it may prevent fema from buying up more land. more, ugh. i mean, you almost think there's just, like... you got to be kidding me. alison: i know. lemonis: holy moses. ♪ in order to understand how the city's finances work, i asked the mayor if he would be willing to open up his books and to sit down with the city council and the city treasurer, which i expected the answer to be no. but i think the mayor understood that the grave nature

of what the town was under, and maybe thought an outside set of eyes could help. how bad are the finances today? joseph: this year's budget was a deficit budget for the general fund of about $30,000, and i think it's going to actually wind up being worse just because it didn't have any of the flood-related costs in there. we're probably talking about adding another $100,000 to the deficit, and we don't have a big cash reserve. lemonis: do you have a cash reserve now? joseph: yes, about $800,000, i think. lemonis: okay. and the deficit obviously eats into that. joseph: correct. lemonis: i can tell you from an outsider's point of view, if you don't do something different, you're out of business. woman #2: right. lemonis: period, end of story. coming up, an american town in crisis. how much do you think is past due? rick: between $250,000 and $300,000.

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because ultimately that becomes the marketing engine for everything that happens. peter: i think it all starts with the natural beauty, really. woman #2: it really is the key west of the midwest. lemonis: that is exactly what i'm looking for. rick: it's a great slogan. woman #2: and we use that line. lemonis: i've never heard it. i haven't seen it anywhere. any business or town for that matter has to be known for something. why do people want to visit there? why do they want to open a business there? and this town seems to be struggling with its identity, and if it doesn't get its identity right, there's nothing that will pull people to come. do you guys want to be known as the key west of the midwest? rick: absolutely. peter: yes. lemonis: okay. that's your jumping-off point. peter: that works. ♪ ♪ lemonis: i asked the mayor to gather the community at the local school. i thought it would be a good idea to talk to everybody about what my vision was.

[ applause ] so the reason that i wanted to get everybody together tonight is to really understand, where, as a town, you want to go and how you're going to get there. the flood has definitely put the city in a very uncomfortable position financially and, more importantly, emotionally. but the town of grafton has something to prove to the rest of america. i'm putting my money on this town. i'm looking to buy a building here because my opinion is worthless unless i actually put my money where my mouth is, right? and we want to be known to be good people who are just hardworking americans who don't need a handout, just a hand up. stand up please if you were in the military. stand up. stand up. there you go.

i was given the chance to come to this country, and i was given a chance to earn a living in this country. and none of that would be possible without you. thank you for your service. [ applause ] if the city will help us move forward, we'll find a place that's visible from the river that will give our town the biggest american flag on the mississippi river, okay? [ applause ] so tomorrow the cleaning will start. can you guys volunteer starting tomorrow? -man #4: yes. -woman #3: yes. lemonis: on the count of three, i just want a "go, grafton," okay? just get a little enthusiasm. 1, 2, 3. crowd: go, grafton! lemonis: we'll see you tomorrow, folks. ♪

♪ i got as much work as y'all can handle. we want to get this town back in shape. i'm feeling good about the fact that people are out this morning, and they're working. they're at city hall. they're at the loading dock, and they're all over town working on each individual little business. i feel the momentum. you doing okay? tammy: as we can be. lemonis: what's this stuff out front here? is this stuff... tammy: it's all going. lemonis: i'm gonna get you a dumpster out here. tammy: okay. lemonis: i'll get it cleaned up. we're gonna go to the fudgery. we'll clean all this up. edge this really tight. let's trim this tree up a little bit. what do you need here on this facility? kelly: right now mainly just, like, outside -- cleaning up and whatnot. that's... lemonis: pressure-washing the building? kelly: right. ♪

♪ lemonis: after a long day of getting a lot of labor done outside, i did want to sit down with the mayor and his wife and really understand what the future of grafton looked like, and was he gonna be part of that future or just gonna be a resident? when did your term start? rick: '17. lemonis: are you happy you did it? kim: it's been hard. rick: it's been hard. kim: what do you get paid a month, like, $200 some? rick: $272. lemonis: does that put a lot of pressure on you? kim: oh, yeah. i'm gone 10 to 11 hours a day. taking care of your house and the business, you know, it's a lot. lemonis: what do you do full-time? kim: i work for gershman mortgage. lemonis: do you mind me asking if you make a lot of money doing that? kim: no, i don't make a lot of money doing it, but i need benefits. our quality of life has gone down the tube. lemonis: ultimately you've been a civil servant your whole life. you do have to start to, at some point, draw a line in the sand and figure out,

"where do i take care of my family? where do i take care of my quality of life?" how do you build the revenue stream so that you can be mayor, not have a conflict and the family can actually have income? rick: well... lemonis: because $275 ain't gonna cut it. rick: no, it's not. ♪ ♪ ♪ lemonis: when we think about how to have the town prosper more than today, it's about increasing revenue and decreasing the expenses. rick: correct. lemonis: simple math like any business, right? alright. come on down here. all i want to just do on this board is, here's the revenue. here are the operating expenses. here are the city assets. rick: okay. lemonis: loading dock, the different lots around town, city hall building.

this town needs capital. it needs the ability to function with working capital. i want to take a look at all the assets and understand what it has that it can sell or it can lease. am i missing any assets here? rick: the marina. lemonis: okay. do you have anybody leasing that today? rick: yeah. it's being leased. lemonis: so how much is that, $50,000 a year? rick: no. lemonis: $10,000 a year? rick: south of $5,000. lemonis: okay. all those boats only generate less than $5,000 a year for the city? rick: yes. lemonis: what does the lease tell you that the tenants pay? rick: 3%. lemonis: 3% of what? rick: boat slip rentals. lemonis: okay. so it says the tenant agrees to pay the city of grafton 3% of the total gross sales receipts derived from boat slip rentals on the subject premises. rick: but the interpretation somehow came to be that it was only on transient. lemonis: but that's not what it says in the lease. rick: i know. lemonis: so do these folks owe you money?

rick: i believe so, yes. lemonis: okay. how much do you think is past due? rick: between $250,000 and $300,000. lemonis: what's gonna maximize the most amount of money? kim: i don't know yet. lemonis: well, i can't do it unless you come up with the idea. lemonis: do t[happy ♪irthday music] ♪ don't get mad, put those years to work with e*trade. and my lack of impulse control,, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! so get allstate where good drivers save 40%

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rick: i believe so, yes. lemonis: okay. if you are using an asset of the city

and not paying your fee, you either have to pay it or get out. rick: i understand fully. lemonis: has anybody talked to them other than you? rick: there have been other council members that have tried to reason. lemonis: at this point, you have no choice other than to fight for what you know is right. you are the shepherd of this town. it's not personal. it's just business. i've decided to go ahead and buy the bank property that i saw. i ultimately want to own a piece of property that i feel good about, but i also want the other people in town to know that i'm fully invested. and while i'll fix up that property, i have no interest in operating a business here. i am willing to give kim a shot at actually opening up a second business in grafton for her and her family. kim: i just know i want to be a part of whatever enterprise you're thinking of. lemonis: well, what do you want it to be? kim: i...

lemonis: i can't do it unless you come up with the idea. something that allows her to make a living and sets the tone for what we want to do on main street. it can be whatever you want it to be. what's gonna maximize the most amount of money? kim: i don't know yet. lemonis: do you want to go to key west to come up with some ideas? kim: yes. lemonis: for the idea part or just to get away? kim: yes, both. lemonis: i thought i'd get them out of there for two reasons. one, give them a change of scenery, but i also want to give kim ideas on her new business. alright. kim: sounds like a plan. lemonis: see you soon. key west, here we come! kim: key west. man #5: ...3-1, radio check. lemonis: for me, duval street is our main street. i think what i'd love to do is just walk duval and identify places that would be cool. rick: yeah.

lemonis: have you noticed all the roosters? rick: oh, yes. kim: yes. lemonis: so what's grafton's rooster? rick: it would be the eagle because, you know, people come to grafton to see that. kim: we need a jewelry store, like a touristy jewelry store, and look at all the people around that little hut. lemonis: what about a store like this? this would be a good store that the bank building could have. kim: yeah. well, you've got stuff for kids. you've got stuff for adults. lemonis: and grafton has nothing like this, right? kim: no, nothing like this. rick: no. lemonis: let's go to a conch fritter place. come here. bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk. rooster! ah! [ rooster crows ] man #6: this is the cracked conch with orange-horseradish marmalade, our conch fritters with key lime-mustard dipping sauce. thank you. kim: mm, thank you. lemonis: so we have to charge forward and figure out what we're gonna get done. rick: i think that every business on main street has a lot of positive features. there's something... lemonis: not all of them. if you really want to continue to be the mayor,

i think it's either, you got to be the mayor, or you got to be everybody's friend. the reason that i wanted to be in grafton and came back to grafton was singularly because of you. i genuinely felt that way. rick: okay. lemonis: i thought the sincerity and the love that you have for your town is amazing, and i worry that sometimes... rick: whew. the problem that i struggle with is, my mom instilled in us -- if you can help somebody, you know, you don't need a pat on the back. if you've got the means or the position, why not do it, you know? because it's not... ♪ ♪

kim: you need a minute? i am so incredibly excited. thank you for everything, and let's do this. crowd: yay! kim: whoo! we are literally going to hogwarts right now. this is unexpected. ahhhh! whoaaa!

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lemonis: that's what i love about you, brother, how real you are. that's why your wife loves you and your family loves you so much. rick: it's not the mark of a man, how much money you make. it's what you do for others and what you do for your family. what i truly, truly hope to do is, you know, do what's right as a teacher, coach. that's who i was. lemonis: it's who you are, and that's what makes you an amazing leader. the other part of being a leader is, it's got the non-glamorous stuff that comes with it, which means that you also are responsible to make sure that there's not a kid on the team that's creating chaos for everybody else. rick: [ sighs ] lemonis: from this day forward, if you could think about your role as mayor no different as being a coach, and at some point it's like, "i've asked you to pay the rent that you're supposed to be paying. i've asked you to not take advantage of the city,

and you've crossed the line. and now there's a consequence to it. you're off the team," or "you're out of the marina because my job is to protect the city and the people that live here like it's to protect the team and the players that play for the team." look, i feel really good about my time with the mayor in key west. i feel like he understands what the clear vision is. in a couple of weeks, i'm going to head back to grafton and see what they've accomplished. i know you're capable of it. okay? rick: yeah. ♪ ♪ i said the water was gonna go away, and it did. look at us. lemonis: it's been a little over a month since the last time i was in grafton. the water is finally back where it belongs in the mississippi river.

there's people here! peter: how about that? lemonis: they came back! peter: took a minute. lemonis: this feels so good. it looks so good. peter: we're proud of it. lemonis: this is unbelievable. over at the loading dock where it's been almost three months since the first time i was there and it was 34 feet underwater, it is open for business. and the 1,000 people that the owner told me was gonna be there? i think he was wrong. there's 2,000. how much revenue do you think you lost? peter: we lost 13 weeks. year-to-year, we're down 80%. kim: we're making ground up, but we'll never make it all up. peter: i think it's still possible. lemonis: how many property transactions happened? rick: three so far. lemonis: and are there other things working? rick: in the works. lemonis: and how many fema buyouts were there? rick: none as yet. woman #4: i think we've been busier than we've ever been. rick: yeah, yeah. lemonis: wow. woman #4: we're so excited. we're overjoyed. almost every day we come down here in tears. lemonis: i think at the end of the day, it's the resiliency that you have to be grateful for, right? woman #4: yes, absolutely. lemonis: you have your faith... peter: amen. lemonis: ...and you have your community,

and that's all that matters. ♪ what's happening with the marina? have you sent them an invoice yet? rick: yeah. we got the invoices out. lemonis: how much was that? rick: about a quarter million. lemonis: okay. have they gotten it yet? rick: oh, yeah. lemonis: they're in receipt of it. rick: they're in receipt, but they won't sign, you know? lemonis: okay. well, you still got it, so... lemonis: so how do you think that's gonna play out time-wise? rick: there's a hearing date on the 20th. lemonis: the owners of the marina have now received a proper invoice for their past-due fees. it'll take a while to resolve this issue, but there should be some money coming to the town sooner rather than later. ♪ part of the reason i needed to come back to grafton is to close on the bank building that i bought, and i also wanted to hear from kim exactly what her plan was to open up her own small business in this space. so what's the plan?

kim: well, the plan is souvenirs... lemonis: yep? kim: like the shop that we saw in key west, so grafton, unique-to-grafton t-shirts and sweatshirts, koozies, key chains, anything that speaks to grafton. when people come here, there's nowhere to get souvenirs right now. lemonis: great, and whatever the town's business plan is, is what this store's business plan should be. they should mirror each other. kim: right. we came up with "grafton: a real american river town." lemonis: i love it. kim: so it can tie in with our deep appreciation for all the veterans. lemonis: we were the leading community in the state of illinois per capita as far as the veteran population. we value, we treasure our veterans here in this community. lemonis: we have some paraphernalia ready -- grafton, a real american river town. the flag could be part of it, and maybe part of what you're here to do is to celebrate your veterans. rick: that would be tremendous. lemonis: be known for something.

it was important for me that grafton be known for something, and the fact that there is a really high veteran population gives us something to celebrate, something to stand for. and one of those veterans, dan, had his woodshop reopened. put those two tables on hold. we'll put them in the store. any other eagles you have here? dan: yeah, we're on the main drag here. lemonis: i like the fact that we would use businesses from grafton to help us finish our store. kim: i would prefer that. lemonis: do you have a lot of photography of grafton? man #7: some. lemonis: any grafton stuff that you have, we'll buy it wholesale and sell it. do you have a business card? woman #5: i do. i have a website. lemonis: also, i'm so glad oliver's fish market has once again beat another flood. but what will make the town really special is to put up

a giant american flag that says to the world, "come hell or high water, we're still here." so right here? rick: hereabouts, in this general area. lemonis: uh-huh? rick: almost from alton, you're gonna be able to see this thing. lemonis: that's the key. rick: you get on that ferry, you're waiting in line, you're gonna see this. man #8: you can do three times the height of those trees. those trees are, say, 50 feet tall. rick: 50, 60 feet tall tops. lemonis: we may go 150. rick: okay. lemonis: i think putting in the flag will not only honor the veterans, but it will give people a reason to drive here to see this beautiful, amazing thing. it's gonna be awesome. kim: it is gonna be awesome. rick: it is. this flagpole is going to be a symbol of strength and how much our veterans mean to the united states of america.

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lemonis: i'm back in grafton after several weeks, and i wanted to be here to celebrate kim's grand opening of her new shop in my grafton bank building, but i also wanted to be here for the flag dedication. kim: thank you, everyone, for being here. i am so incredibly excited, and i could not be here without the help of a lot of people. so thank you for everything, and let's do this! 3, 2, 1. crowd: yay! kim: whoo! awesome. thank you. thank you. thank you. lemonis: holy moses, it looks totally different.

congratulations. kim: thank you so much. lemonis: i'm so proud of you. look, i love the fact that kim took so much pride in bringing her store and her town to life. i really am shocked at how good it looks. and i like the fact that she followed the business plan of the town -- what is the town gonna be known for and make the store look exactly the same. she did a pretty darn good job. i like the fact that everything in here ties to the town. kim: these are made by people local here in grafton. lemonis: are you having fun doing this? kim: yeah, i love it. lemonis: what does everybody think? man #8: it's great! [ cheers and applause ] lemonis: i have to tell you that this store isn't really just about being a store. it was really watching the whole town rally together to bring something to life. there's towns around the country that are suffering and struggling, and you guys are now role models for them. the town feels awesome, right? alison: yes. the vibe is amazing. lemonis: awesome. well, thank you, everybody. we'll have fun today. ♪

♪ hi, guys. thank you for your service. ♪ rick: what a fantastic evening. on behalf of the people of grafton, i sincerely hope that this dedication ceremony will give everyone in attendance a very clear and resounding idea of just how much our veterans and our first-responders mean to this community and mean to this region. man #9: ♪ i've been waiting for too long ♪ rick: there will be days, there will be times ahead, that this flagpole will stick out of floodwaters. there's no doubt, but that flag is going to be a symbol of strength like it has been for the united states of america. man #9: ♪ to get me through

♪ breathe in, breathe out ♪ breathe in, breathe out ♪ sing, sing ♪ because you know you're not broken ♪ ♪ sing, sing ♪ because the darkness is falling ♪ ♪ sing, sing ♪ because you know you're not broken ♪ ♪ so sing, sing lemonis: very proud of you. rick: thanks. lemonis: i really am. rick: thank you. the city thanks you. kim: his mom would be really proud. i'm very proud. good job. lemonis: look, i think you were meant to do this. while everybody here participated in helping the town come back, it would have never happened without you. rick: well, there's more to it than me. yep. lemonis: i came into the city three, four months ago, and it was totally underwater.

and i watched a town rally around their family, their community, their livelihoods and bring it back from the ashes. when things don't look so good, you got to keep pushing through. this country provides you with that opportunity, and this flag demonstrates that because no matter how much the water comes in and out of this town, that flag is going nowhere. you know you got a friend for life in me, okay? rick: i thought that from the day we brought you. kim: what about me? lemonis: the day we met. yeah, we'll let you in, too. i'll see you guys later, okay? kim: take care. lemonis: good luck. ♪ man #9: ♪ sing, sing ♪ because the darkness is falling ♪ ♪ sing, sing ♪ ♪

ome in and do the unthinkable. i felt like a hand being placed on my mouth. i started to tell them please, don't kill me, please don't kill me. narrator: an attack in the night. i was really freaking out. i was like, what's going on? what's going on? narrator: a mother murdered. it looked like two ghosts had just committed the ultimate crime. narrator: he lived to tell police a harrowing story. was it true? he's the only one who survived, he's practically unharmed. they treating you like a suspect or a witness? they are treating me like a suspect.