Accessibility menu
State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact:
GUEST COLUMN
Special session scheduled to address flooding
By Rep. Paul Anderson
Parts of Minnesota were hit with heavy rains recently and, as a result, Gov. Tim Pawlenty will call a special session of the Legislature to deal with the situation. Correspondence from his office and that of House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher spoke of the timing of the special session being sometime during the week of Oct. 7 through the 12th.
The hardest-hit area includes the southern one-third of Minnesota, affecting approximately 35 counties. The precipitation totals – ranging upwards of 10 to 12 inches – were a record or near-record rainfall event. Early estimates have at least 650 homes damaged in the hardest hit areas of Blue Earth, Goodhue, Martin, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, and Wabasha Counties. Hundreds of roads were damaged by sink holes or washouts. Numerous bridges were closed and now await inspection before re-opening.
Other reports of damage had propane tanks being ripped from their moorings and washed away. Two nursing homes had to be evacuated and at least two schools experienced minor damage. On the day following the deluge, 17 schools either cancelled classes or had delayed start times.
To see if Minnesota qualifies for disaster aid, joint federal/state assessment teams began their work Sept. 27. A threshold of $6.4 million in uninsured losses to public infrastructure must be met in order for the Governor to request that President Obama declare a major disaster. The preliminary work was scheduled to be completed by Sept. 30 and the final assessment done by Oct. 5.
If the disaster declaration is made, FEMA will reimburse 75 percent of eligible costs. The remaining 25 percent must come from non-federal sources. Recent precedent has had the state picking up the entire portion of the non-federal share. At this point, where these state funds will come from is unclear, although a possible surplus at the end of this current two-year budget cycle has been mentioned as a possible source.
I was in St. Paul when the rainstorm occurred and heard reports of damage being relayed to legislators. The St. James area was particularly hard-hit, with one farmer reporting that his soybeans had been destroyed, not only by heavy rain, but severe hail as well. The news reports on TV seemed to concentrate on damage to towns and cities, which was severe. But it also made me wonder if folks realize the economic value of those farm crops damaged or destroyed. The impact from being unable to salvage the corn, beans and sugar beets in that part of the state would be immense.
On a recent tour of the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, we heard a report of strong demand for graduates in the field of agriculture. John Byrnes, communications director at the St. Paul campus, said that, nationally, approximately 52,000 aspiring workers were looking for employment last year. The good news is that 55,000 jobs were awaiting those grads.
—30—
Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
News Items
- ANDERSON TAKES HOUSE OATH - (Posted: Jan 8 2013 12:00AM)
- Legislative begins this week - (Posted: Jan 11 2013 3:36PM)
- Current surplus allows K-12 repayment - (Posted: Dec 10 2012 12:00AM)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.