The same storm that devastated Joplin, Missouri, spawned a smaller twister that nonetheless left scars on the ground and in the psyches of people in north MInneapolis. In Larry Oakes' story today, the Fuller family, all 13 of them, survived a harrowing day only to find themselves without a permanent home for months.

Our team coverage of the tornado anniversary has been informed by my own experience as one of many reporters who went to north Minneapolis in the hours after it struck. The Fullers were among the first families that I met that afternoon. John Fuller told me that he felt lucky that his home made it through with at least some of its roof, unlike his neighbor.

Yet when I visited the street in late March, the Fuller's rented house was the one that didn't survive.

In the same return visit, I was also intrigued to see a house around the corner, 2639 Oliver Avenue North, remain unrepaired. It's owned by Mahmood Khan, the same landlord whose 2501 Golden Valley Road apartment building is one of the biggest eyesores left over from the storm. On May 22, 2011, I interviewed Suzanne Bradshaw, who emerged from a closet at 2639 Oliver to find open sky where the roof used to be.

Curiously, even though it's condemned, 2639 Oliver didn't show up on the city's list of properties with remaining roof or structural damage from the tornado. That's one reason why we didn't accept the city's figures as the final word when reporter Maya Rao was assessing the remaining damage for her Sunday story. The city's list didn't even include a vacant commercial building that the city owns at 2101 West Broadway, one that sustained enough tornado damage that the city got permission from FEMA to spend $300,000 to fix it. Instead, the city will demolish it. Reporter Eric Roper found out about that building while researching the story on tornado costs with his colleague Randy Furst.

I've been impressed by the resources and effort Minnesota Public Radio has put into covering the tornado anniversary. Along with daily reports on many aspects of the disaster, as well as online features such as before-after photos, MPR is broadcasting live this afternoon, starting at 3 p.m., from the University of Minnesota's Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC).

This team will continue to track the recovery of the North Side, and I welcome your suggestions on how we should do it.