Tag: Flooding

ELY, Minn. — Heavy rainfall across the state on Tuesday night left hundreds of campers stranded at a northern Minnesota campground.

Already busy with flood damage from this week’s downpour, crews in St. Louis County are preparing for what could be an even busier weekend.

“We have about 43 roads right now that are closed due to either water over the road that’s too deep for vehicles to drive through, or there’s been damage, culverts washing out those types of things,” said Jim Foldesi, St Louis County Public Works Director.

One of the roads washed out from the rain is the only road leading to the 200 campers and 80 staff members at Camp Du Nord, northwest of Ely.

Not only are the campers stuck on the grounds — they’ve been split from each other.

“[It] Basically cut our property in half,” said Michel Tigan, Vice President of Adventure and Camp Operations, YMCA of the North. “So it’s stranded our campers on either sides of the property. And so we had to do our best to pivot and make sure that folks that were in programming areas on either side of the property were comfortable and fed because we didn’t want them traversing across those waterways that had separated our property.”

They have power, plenty of food and water, but those campers are still roughing it in the Northwoods until the road can reopen —hopefully by the weekend.

“Emergency communications are set up with those folks. We make sure that they’re okay. If there’s an emergency, there’s contingency plans that the sheriff and the rescue squad have in place,” Foldesi said.

While they’re stuck, campers are making the best of it.

“Last night, folks were already asking, ‘How can we help?’ And so this morning, our incredible facility team members gathered together to think through some work groups that they could get involved in,” Tigan said. “And so they’ve also been helping to repair the trails and move a lot of gravel and rock that’s been pushed by the water out of the way of our buildings.”

Allen Henry

Allen Henry is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who joined WCCO as a reporter in August 2022.

MINNEAPOLIS — Warmer weather is here, and a lot of people are hitting the lakes and rivers to cool off.

Stillwater was bustling with people strolling around or on St. Croix River on Saturday.

Despite the warmer weather and lack of rain, the recent rainfall is causing our rivers to rise.

Bruce Khang made the trip from St. Paul to Stillwater to prepare for a fishing competition on the St. Croix River.

“I was surprised this morning when I came here, water was high,” Khang said.

With the river level climbing to almost 685 ft, a no-wake order went into effect on the 52-mile St. Croix River.

Simply put, boaters must go slower.

“When we fish, we like to at least speed and get to our fishing spots,” Khang said.

Khang’s Saturday rendezvous took longer but he understands that safety comes first.

For long time boating enthusiasts Chris Charlsen, it’s a change of pace.

“It’s actually kind of peaceful not a lot of waves in river, not a lot of crazy boat drivers, it’s very nice,” Charlsen smiled.

He believes the restrictions are necessary given the debris and logs floating in the river.

“You have to be very aware, or your boat will be damaged,” he said.

In St. Paul, the Mississippi river is up three feet just this week, leading to streets and paths being closed.

The city temporarily closed Water Street/Lilydale Road on Wednesday in anticipation of flooding.

City House is also without water, forcing them to pivot– and bring in porta potties and adding hand washing stations to ensure a successful weekend.

A flood forecast from the National Weather Service says both the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers will stay at current levels until Tuesday afternoon.

Leaving park-goers and some business owners watching for rain.