Thumbs Down: The torrential rains that have been pounding southwest Minnesota is leading to unprecedented flooding for this time of year. The power of water was shown in the washed out roads near Redwood Falls and Walnut Grove this past week. Springfield’s Riverside Park was flooded and an apartment building was evacuated as a precaution there. The Springfield utilities department was quick to restore power to parts of the city affected by flood-caused power outages, which earns them a pat on the back.

The impact on area farmers is not good. Standing water out in the middle of fields is drowning out corn and soybean plants and the impact will be felt at harvest time.

Gov. Mark Dayton has declared a state of emergency in storm ravaged counties around the state, and we hope that will lead to needed disaster funding.

Music/Science camp

Thumbs Up: Kudos to the creators of the new day camp in New Ulm, the Growing Wise Science and Music Day Camp slated to be held in early August. The camp is an off-shoot of the composer in residence program a couple of years ago that brought Peter Michael von der Nahmer to New Ulm, which resulted in a locally inspired original musical called “Growing Wise.”

The new day camp will give kids aged 10 to 18 a chance to explore nature at Flandrau State Park, and use the inspiration of nature to stir their creativity to put their experiences to music

Registration is limited to 15. The web site with more information is www.growingwise.mutadra.com.

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