Dear Neighbor,
The destruction July 12th's storms inflicted on the Brainerd Lakes area will take us years of effort to repair, but there is one thing I would like people to know:
WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Visitors are welcome.
I toured the area Friday with fellow state legislators from the area, Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. Thank you to the governor for accepting the invitation we local legislators extended to survey the damage.
The destruction is overwhelming and leaves you wondering where to start. But volunteers and local professionals coming together to get the job done, you can see it everywhere you look.
This is one of those times when bipartisanship emerges and Minnesota's leaders come together to do what we can to help. We've done it before and we are doing it again this time. This is still a process of assessment as we try to get a handle on what relief is appropriate.
We continue working on getting a complete inventory of the damage and I will provide more information regarding assistance as details become available.
Until then, please feel free to use me as a resource. If I don't have the answer, I'll do my best to put you in touch with someone who will.
Take care and God bless,
Mark