St. Cloud Veteran Gets New Roof

(KNSI) – A St. Cloud veteran who is usually assisting other vets is the one getting a hand up with a new roof, thanks to the Purple Heart Home program.

Zach Magnas (center) lives in the 2500-block of Park Drive with his wife Donna and dog Penny. Storms damaged their home’s roof in 2019. His insurance company denied the claim and he has been dealing with a leaking roof ever since.

“In the last two years, we’ve had tarps over it. And still, water would leak in and get in between the walls and above our fireplace. And it started rotting a little bit and we started seeing the mold. I couldn’t do much about it at the time. And I just start praying about it actually.”

Jake Judd KNSI News

His prayers were answered when he heard about, applied for and was selected for help from the Purple Heart Home Program. Owens Corning supplies the roofing materials and Advantage Construction Inc. in East Bethel supplies the labor. Magnas says he can’t thank the program enough.

“The fact that they’re going out of their way to supply my family with a new roof is pretty fantastic. And I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just amazing.”

Magnas is the Veterans Service Resource Director at St. Cloud State University and says it warms his heart to see groups helping vets.

“I see a lot of people saying that they want to help out our veterans and our military folks. And when the time comes to step up, sometimes you just don’t see that. So, when I see companies, businesses and organizations that actually truly mean it, it’s just fantastic to see.”

Representatives from Advantage Construction say the work would have cost the family more than $40,000 to replace the 3,900 square-foot roof. The Purple Heart Home Program, part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, is looking for more veterans to help.

For eligibility requirements and to register for the program, click here.

Magnas served in the Minnesota Army National Guard out of Sauk Centre from 2009 to 2015.

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