Preparations Along the Mighty Mississippi
Brent Wolfe
April 11, 1997

The Mississippi River is expected to crest late this weekend or early next week between the Twin Cities and LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The river is already higher than it's been at any time in Minnesota since the record flood of 1965. The Coast Guard has closed the river to all boat traffic and bridges are threatened at Prescott, Wisconsin; Red Wing, and Wabasha. The National Weather Service has been warning of this flood for months and communities along the river have developed elaborate contingency plans. Barge operators are suffering high costs from being idled but as Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports, flooding along the Mississippi isn't expected to cause the widespread damage residents of northern and western Minnesota have faced.

A RECENT FLOOD PLANNING MEETING for volunteers in Winona didn't have the same sense of urgency as efforts in northwestern Minnesota.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE? DO YOU THINK THAT A SANDWICH IS APPROPRIATE? OH YES. (LAUGHTER) SWEETS OR...? SO A SANDWICH? SPEAK FOR YOURSELF. (LAUGHTER) WALNUTS IN THE BROWNIES. (LAUGHTER) (FADES)

The Red Cross is planning to provide refreshments for volunteers patrolling Winona's dike and pump system 24 hours a day. The dike is built of sand to allow water to seep through to pumping stations that pump water back into the river. Volunteers will be watching to make sure the force of the river doesn't carry away parts of the barrier. The Coast Guard is trying to minimize erosion along the dikes and banks by keeping boats off the Mississippi. Each year, commercial barges move 50 million tons of grain, fuel, and other goods along the Minnesota section of the river. Dean Peterson, Flood Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, oversees shipping on the river from the Twin Cities to Guttenberg, Iowa. He says the damage to barge operators won't be as bad as it could have been because they shipped out a lot of grain last year when corn and soybean prices were high.

SO THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF GRAIN UP HERE IN STORAGE AT THIS TIME TO BE SHIPPED OUT THIS SPRING SO WE WERE ANTICIPATING A FAIRLY SLOW SEASON. THIS WILL IMPACT AT LEAST A COUPLE OF WEEKS, MAYBE AS MUCH AS THRE WEEKS OR MORE WHERE THERE WON'T BE SHIPPING BY THE TIME IT RIPPLES DOWNRIVER. THE ECONOMIC IMPACT WOULD BE STAGGERING, IN THE MULTI MILLIONS, MAY BE 50 MILLION DOLLARS IN A NORMAL YEAR, IT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT THAT LARGE.

The flood will also hit small business owners like Bee Koch. She and her husband own and operate a small fishing lodge, campground, and harbor called Camp Lacupolis just north of Wabasha. Friends and neighbors have been helping them prepare for the rising water for weeks.

WE HAVE BEEN OVER TIME HAULING IN A LITTLE RIP RAP TO HELP PROTECT THE EDGE OF THE HARBOR. WE ALSO TOOK OUT ALL OF OUR GAS TANKS, CLEARED OUT ALL OF OUR CABINS, TOOK EVERYTHING OUT OF THE CABINS INCLUDING CARPETS AND LINOLIUM AND STOVES AND REFRIGERATORS AND EVERYTHING OUT OF THEM.

Now the cabins have several inches of water in them and the force of winds and the current are ripping apart their riverfront deck. They had to re-build after flooding in 1993, but Koch says the clean-up isn't what worries her most.

WHAT HAPPENED IN '93 WAS PEOPLE KEPT HEARING ABOUT THE FLOOD AND THEY DIDN'T COME BACK TO THE RIVER AND THE REAL DISASTER WAS NOT THE FLOOD ITSELF, IT WAS THE FACT THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T COME BACK AND BUSINESSES HAD SUCH A BAD TOURISM SEASON.

Officials in Wabasha aren't worried about getting tourists into town right now, they're concerned about getting residents in and out. By the time the river crests, they expect to have only one road in and out of town. And they'll have to keep that road above water by laying down extra gravel. Wabasha County Emergency Management Director Al Holtan says they don't intend to repeat the conditions of the record flood of 1965.

I WAS A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL THEN AND WE WERE TOTALLY ENCOMPASSED IN WABASHA BY WATER. WE JUST SAT HERE AS AN ISLAND. THEY HAD AN ARMY DUCK THAT THEY USED FOR BRINGING PEOPLE IN AND OUT, THEY WERE HAULING CATTLE OUT WITH BOATS, AND FARMERS WERE TOTALLY UNDER WATER.

40 percent of the employees at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Wabasha live in Wisconsin, and if the bridge between Wabasha and Wisconsin closes down, their usual 15-minute commute will turn into a one- to two-hour trip. But Dean Peterson with the Corps of Engineers says they should stay in their cars, and not take to the water.

THE RIVER IS A VERY UNSAFE PLACE RIGHT NOW. AS BRIDGES CLOSE DOWN, THERE WILL BE THE DESIRE OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON ONE SIDE AND HAVE TO COMMUTE TO THE OTHER TO GET ACROSS THE RIVER USING PLEASURE CRAFT OR RECREATIONAL BOATS OF SOME KIND AND I WOULD DISCOURAGE THAT. IF YOU GET IN TROUBLE OUT THERE, YOU'RE PUTTING YOURSELF AT RISK AND IT'S REAL DIFFICULT FOR ANYBODY TO COME AND TRY AND HELP YOU OUT.

BRING UP SOUND OF RUSHING WATER.

It's easy to see what Peterson is talking about on the Corps' Lock and Dam Number 5 at Minnesota City. Milky brown water rushes by and floating debris passes in a matter of seconds. While water may remain high on the Minnesota section of the Mississippi River for a couple of weeks, severe flooding is not expected further down the river in Iowa and Illinois. Unless the rains roll in. I'm Brent Wolfe, Minnesota Public Radio.

SOUND OF RUSHING WATER.

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