Floods swamp parts of state’s western farm country

Waves of heavy rain swamped parts of rural southwestern Minnesota this week, leading to flooded streets and waterlogged fields.

A declaration of a state of emergency is expected Friday afternoon in Big Stone County near the South Dakota border, said Dona Greiner, the county’s emergency management director.

“There’s a lot of standing water in the fields, which is really concerning for the crops, and roads underwater,” Greiner said.

Two sandbag stations are set up in Ortonville, she said.

The rain came from slow-moving thunderstorms and heavy rainfall that developed and lingered near Granite Falls on Wednesday, the DNR said.

These storms moved toward the Twin Cities, and several brief tornadoes were reported in Freeborn, Steele, Wabasha and Houston counties, the DNR statement said.

“There’s a lot of extra lakes in the county right now,” Yellow Medicine County Sheriff Bill Flaten said from Granite Falls via a phone call.

In Renville, some 100 miles west of the Twin Cities, pumps are out as streets across three blocks have water over curbs.

Damage from 6 inches of rain in Renville County will lead to a declaration of a state of emergency next week, said Mike Hennen, the county’s director of emergency management.

Hennen said he doesn’t have an estimate for crop loss in the county, but the fields are “saturated” and he sees ponds as large as 3 acres as he drives.

“We’re just hoping that the rain that comes tomorrow doesn’t set us back,” Hennen said.

For farmer Dean Enestvedt, the rains this week are another blow after a rough season last year that included flooding and then a drought.

Enestvedt expects he’s lost 15% of his crops this week on his farm south of Sacred Heart.

The 65-year-old said that the rain was so intense that it led to a rare event: The rainwater from his fields climbed over the top of a ridge to pour into his creek.

“Maybe the third time in my life I’ve seen that,” Enestvedt said.