Governor Mark Dayton, Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and U.S. Rep. Colin Peterson have been through the area looking at damage caused by flooding this past week. While flash flooding caused by last week’s heavy rain was not widespread, it caused significant damage where it did happen. Roads have been washed out near Walnut Grove and Redwood Falls. Springfield’s Riverside Park athletic complex was underwater. And of course, the heavy rain has been flooding farm fields, drowning out large sections of cropland at a time when replanting is no longer an option.

Gov. Dayton has already declared a state of emergency in the affected counties, and this should trigger a disaster declaration that will bring disaster aid to the area. Townships, cities and counties don’t have a lot of money on hand to deal with major road reconstruction. We will need state and federal funds to alleviate the burden of repairing the damage that has been caused.