Faribault City Council Declares a Flood Emergency

The Faribault City Council held an emergency meeting to pass a proclamation for the city to officially be declared in a state of emergency due to flooding.

Faribault Emergency Management Director Dusty Dienst told KDHL during the Midday Report after the emergency council meeting that the designation essentially means city officials may make purchases without going through the normal bidding process.

For example, virtually every hauler of rock and dirt in the area was forming a line to unload at the Water Treatment Plant where they were building a temporary berm dike for the third time in the past six years.

Dienst told us the water levels have not reached 2010 levels but have surpassed 2012, and when we visited with him the waters were still rising.

Mayor Dana Graham also has declared a state of emergency for Northfield.

There is also more rain in the forecast. Particularly for Saturday.

Rain gauge reports phoned in to KDHL ranged from 7 inches on the east side of Faribault to an average of about 3.5 inches to the west of Faribault.

By the Faribault Woolen Mill, where you can hardly tell there is a dam, rain gauge reports are 4.81 inches today and 12.5 inches so far this month.

I was at the St. John's United Church of Christ in Wheeling Township this morning and they received about 6 inches of rain as of 9:15 this morning.

Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn also joined us live on the KDHL Newsline during the Midday Report and wanted to get the word out that County Road 99 had to be closed west of Morristown due to flooding.

Flooding had also closed Highway 60 on the west end of Kenyon, Highway 13 at 330th Avenue and 85th Street and Highway 13 in Waseca.

The Waseca Airport reported 13.91 inches of rain over the past 48 hours.