"We've already had offers of places to move while we rebuild," Veit said. "Hopefully we can get the electricity back on and get back on track."

After 40 years in the communications business, Steve Veile was poised to head into retirement this year. Now he's not sure what his next step will be.

Veile’s building, like others, was built long ago by inmates at the shuttered Missouri State Penitentiary just down the street. He moved in and restored what had once been a family home with horse stables in the basement.

It’s been home to his Communique Communications for 36 years. The company does strategic communications for businesses and organizations.

“It’s a sad day,” Veile said.

Gary and Lynette Jackson, of the 400 block of Marshall Street near downtown, were assessing the damage around noon to their one-story home. The wall to their sun room had blown off, and several windows on their cars and home were busted.

"I'm still really nervous," said Lynette Jackson, 52, who works for the state.

She worried about the structural integrity of the home where the couple had lived for 15 years, and whether damaged trees would fall and cause more damage.