Coping with more rain and storms in a warming climate

Rain rain go away ... Have you found yourself wishing that recently?   

The last few weeks have seen torrential rain and flooding across Minnesota. So much water in such a short time inundated rivers and ditches, washed out roads, seeped into basements and overwhelmed sewer systems.   

The little town of Cook in northern Minnesota was under three feet of water. Farmers in southern Minnesota saw fields turn into muddy lakes.  

And, a family lost their house when it was swept away as the pent-up Blue Earth River near Mankato surged around a dam.  

Flooding is nothing new in Minnesota. But heavy rains are increasing with climate change. So are violent storms that bring hail and high winds.    

MPR News host Angela Davis talked with leaders in state government about how the increase in extreme weather is affecting Minnesotans — from moldy basements to increased insurance rates. Davis and her guests also talked about what individuals can do to protect their homes and what communities can do to reduce future damage.

Guests:

• Grace Arnold was appointed commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce in 2020. Before that she served as the deputy commissioner overseeing insurance.  She has a background in public health and insurance markets.

• Kate Knuth is climate director at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. She previously headed efforts to prepare Minneapolis for climate change as the city’s chief resilience officer and developed leadership programming around climate and environmental issues at the University of Minnesota. She also served six years in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.