Minnesota declares state of emergency over floods

June 22, 2012 – MINNESOTA – Gov. Mark Dayton has declared a state of emergency and authorized the National Guard to help Duluth cope with its flood damage. The governor issued the executive order Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after promising Duluth Mayor Don Ness that the state would provide all possible assistance. Dayton plans to travel to Duluth on Thursday morning to discuss further how the state can help. Dayton also asks people who live in or were planning to travel in the Duluth area to follow the requests of local authorities to stay off of affected roads and highways so emergency crews can do their work. In Carlton, several residents have been evacuated. Some residents in Thomson Township in Carlton County were urged to leave after the Thompson Reservoir overflowed. Residents of Duluth’s Fond du Lac neighborhood had also urged to evacuate. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at First United Methodist Church in Duluth, also known as the “Copper Top Church.” Minnesota Power says its dams along the St. Louis River leading into Duluth and Superior, Wis., are holding well. Utility spokeswoman Amy Rutledge tells the Duluth News Tribune there are no problems with any of the four dams along the lower river – including the Fond du Lac, Thomson, Scanlon and Knife Falls dams. She adds, “the system is designed to handle this kind of flood and more.” She says the stream flow at the Fond du Lac Dam has rocketed tenfold from the usual 2,000 to 5,000 cubic feet per second to 47,000. The utility has opened dam gates to prevent floods upstream. That caused the river to rise rapidly in the Fond du Lac neighborhood, as it often has in the past, and inundate riverfront areas there. The city of Superior, Wisconsin is also flooded. –Kare 11

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