Robin McMullen looked out the window of her Waterville, Minn., cabin Thursday, watching helplessly as water from the storms earlier this week that pushed lakes and rivers over their banks lapped at her front door.
Roads across Minnesota close as flood waters rise. More rain is on the way.
More than 40 roads in hard-hit northeastern Minnesota were closed Thursday.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
June 20, 2024 at 11:44PM
“It’s sad,” she said. “There is nothing we can do. Luckily we have somewhere else to go.”
With another round of heavy rain in the forecast for Friday and Saturday, the waters are not likely to recede anytime soon. Cities, towns and counties are scrambling to build levies, fill sandbags and close parks, trails, campgrounds and roads as river and lake levels continue to rise.
Officials in flood-ravaged St. Louis County in northern Minnesota approved a disaster declaration at a special meeting Thursday, paving the way to ask the state and federal government for assistance.
The St. Louis County Board declared the disaster after multiple inches of rain washed out roads and culverts and forced the closure of 43 roads. Most are in the northern part of the county, which stretches from Duluth to the Canadian border, said Dana Kazel, communications manager for St. Louis County.
“Every river is just flowing,” she said.
The Twin Cities and southern Minnesota are in line to receive another 2 to 4 inches of rain through Saturday, and isolated pockets could get 6 inches, the National Weather Service said. The Duluth area and northeastern Minnesota may also see periods of heavy rain.
“River flooding will worsen through the week with moderate or major flooding at some locations,” the Weather Service said.
Several entry points to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are closed due to road washouts, flooding and downed trees, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service said. Some permits reserved through Saturday have been canceled and visitors are being notified.
Much of Minnesota State Hwy. 1 between Hwy. 53 and Silver Bay on Lake Superior remained closed for a second straight day.
Rising water forced the Minnesota Department of Transportation to shut down Hwy. 41 between downtown Chaska and Hwy. 169 in Carver County on Thursday morning. The county also closed County Road 11 across the Minnesota River near Jordan, the only northern route out of the city.
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Farther south, MnDOT shut down Hwy. 19 between Hwy. 169 and downtown Henderson, forcing drivers on a long detour as other roads in the area are under construction. One of the other main routes out of Henderson, Hwy. 93, is already closed due to construction that aims to prevent chronic flooding for the Sibley County community. Another route, Sibley County 6, is also blocked due to construction.
“It’s hard to get here,” Henderson Mayor Keith Swenson said in a phone call Wednesday.
With more heavy rain in the forecast, the odds of roads being added to the state closure list are high.
Flood warnings remained in effect across the hard-hit Arrowhead Region, where up to 7 inches of rain has already fallen this week. They also are in place along the Minnesota River from Mankato to Jordan to Savage and along the Crow River for cities including Delano, Mayer and Rockford.
The Minnesota River was rising high and fast in the west metro city of Carver, which once served as the last stop for the steamboats that sailed from St. Paul. On Thursday, city crews dumped truckloads of sand on the W. Main Street bridge to extend a levy to protect the downtown. That last happened about 10 years ago, said Mayor Courtney Johnson.
“We will give up the bridge for a week or two as to cause no more problems,” Johnson said. No businesses have been impacted yet. The city is staying ahead of things so far, but the river isn’t supposed to crest until Tuesday, and that forecast does not take into account any additional rain.
Warmer, drier conditions are expected next week. “That would be very good news,” Johnson said.
Picnic and Pike islands at Fort Snelling State Park are closed due to high water, but the visitors center and about 25% of the park’s trails remain open. Trails and campgrounds at other parks are closed, the Department of Natural Resources said.
“Please check visitor alerts on state park websites before heading out,” the agency warned. “Rain is impacting a number of parks.”
In Waterville, 15 miles west of Faribault, officials are seeking volunteers 18 and older to fill sandbags. Volunteers were asked to show up at the City Shop until 2 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m. More sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.
“Rain or shine, dress for the weather,” the Le Sueur County Management said in a Facebook post, with a reminder not to wear open-toed shoes.
The Willow Point Campground in Waterville is under 7 to 8 inches of water, said manager and co-owner Sean McCaslin.
“We basically closed down,” he said Thursday. “We will just have to wait for the water to go down.”
No damage was reported at the campground on the shores of Sakatah Lake, McCaslin said.
Le Sueur County Emergency Management Director Tammy Stewig said she and Waterville residents have compared the flooding this year to similar deluges in 2014 and 2019.
“The lakes are very high,” she said.
For Robin McMullen and her husband, Bryan, the abrupt change from two summers of drought to “the most rain we have ever seen” has had their sump pump running nonstop for the past two weeks. Though the house has not taken on water yet, it’s swirling outside. Her neighbors have not been as fortunate, she said.
“Sandbags won’t help at this point. The river has been rising little by little. We are just watching it happen,” she said. “We are weathering the storm.”
Star Tribune staff writer Jp Lawrence contributed to this story.
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