In Morton, waiting for the creek to rise; elsewhere, road closures continue

Updated: 12:55 p.m. | Posted: 4 a.m.

With its eyes on the river gauges, Minnesota continues to brace for the possibility of significant spring flooding.

The National Weather Service says the Mississippi River is expected to hit major flood stage — 17 feet — late Monday in St. Paul. In anticipation, a temporary floodwall is going up at the city's downtown airport.

The nearly 3,200-foot-long wall can be built as high as 8 1/2 feet. It will shorten the airport's main runway by more than 1,000 feet, but airport officials say that despite the mitigation and closures, the airport should remain open.

MPR News reporters are fanned out across the state, talking to Minnesotans about how they're dealing with the unpredictable weather and preparing for possible floods. Here's what we're seeing Friday.

Morton: A dry creek bed now overflows with meltwater

Communities across the state are keeping close tabs on flood forecasts and river gauges as snowmelt accelerates and water levels inch upward. For the 400 residents of Morton in southwestern Minnesota, it's not the nearby Minnesota River that they're worried about, it's a small brook in the middle of town that's about to burst its banks.

The creek that flows down from the farm fields north of Morton, through the park, and into the Minnesota River isn't big enough to have a name. In fact, resident Miranda Sam said it's often dry. Now, the creek is the talk of the town.

"The stream is sitting at max capacity right now," Sam said. "I would not allow my kids to go near it. Chances are, it is going to be flooding us out again."

By "again," Sam means last July 3, when a downpour soaked southwestern Minnesota.

Rick Farmer is Sam's uncle and Morton's mayor. He said when the storm filled the creek well beyond its capacity, it rose "up to the point where we had to redirect our celebration for the Fourth of July, and it did affect numerous houses down in that area."

The flood caused severe damage to about three of the community's 80 homes and sent lesser amounts of water into two dozen others, the mayor said.

Less than nine months later, Farmer is warning his neighbors to get ready for round two. The creek is swelling with snowmelt. There's also some backup from the rising Minnesota River.

Given the town's topography, Farmer says sandbagging isn't an option.

"If you redirect it it's going to affect somebody else downstream, and we don't want that to happen until it gets to the Minnesota," he said.

Even as the community prepares for more high water, Farmer still waits for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for last year's flood expenses. And he's hopeful that someday the community will be able to reroute the creek away from the center of town.

— Matt Sepic | Morton, Minn.

Moorhead: City well-prepared after years of flood mitigation work

The mayor of Moorhead has signed an emergency declaration as the city begins preparing for a spring flood.

Moorhead is likely to see major flooding this year, and the National Weather Service says there's a small chance the Red River will rise to near the record level reached in 2009.

Moorhead Mayor Jonathan Judd said Friday that the city is well-prepared.

"The good news is that Moorhead's flood preparations have been ongoing since 2009 and our completed flood mitigation projects were designed for these river levels," Judd said at a news conference.

Moorhead has removed 263 flood-prone homes near the river since 2009. About $110 million has been spent on flood mitigation, including 12 miles of permanent flood walls and levees.

During the record 2009 flood, the city used 2.5 million sandbags and built 12 miles of emergency levees. A similar flood this year would require only 150,000 sandbags and about one mile of emergency levees.

Across the Red River in Fargo, the city also has been aggressive with flood mitigation projects since 2009.

The city purchased and removed 235 homes and built 21 miles of permanent levees and flood walls, according to city engineer Nathan Boerboom.

Fargo has spent $280 million on flood mitigation since 2009. During that year's record flood, Fargo used about 6.5 million sandbags to protect homes along the Red River. A similar flood this year would require about one million sandbags.

Both cities are banking on a $2.8 billion flood diversion project to supplement their levees and flood walls in the future.

A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources permit for the project is being contested by people living upstream from Fargo and Moorhead, but officials still hope to start construction on the project this year and complete the 30-mile diversion channel in six to eight years.

— Dan Gunderson | Moorhead, Minn.

Southern Minn.: Road closures continue as ice jams break free

The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed the Highway 41 bridge in Scott County after rush hour Thursday because of rising waters.

The bridge between U.S. Hwy. 169 and Chaska Boulevard spans the Minnesota River between Chaska and Shakopee. Transportation officials say it will remain closed until the river level goes down and the bridge can be examined for damage.

In St. Peter, MnDOT closed the State Hwy. 99 bridge over the Minnesota River that leads into town after an ice jam that had been clogging the river broke up and sent high waters under it. Pedestrians gathered on the bridge to watch the ice-chipped waters rush underneath until they were asked to leave.

Meanwhile, U.S. Hwy. 65 in downtown Albert Lea remains closed due to seasonal flooding, and the city of St. Paul has plans to close several streets over the weekend in anticipation of flooding along the Mississippi.

The city says it will close much of Shepard Road that runs from near downtown St. Paul east to the area under Indian Mounds Regional Park.

Starting Sunday at 10 p.m., the city will also close portions of Second Street, Jackson Street and Sibley Street on the southern part of the downtown, as well as part of Fourth Street to the east of CHS Field. Those closures are part of a plan to put in equipment and temporary levees to mitigate flooding in the city, especially around its Lowertown neighborhood.

— MPR News staff

St. Paul: Capital joins ranks of Minn. cities bracing for spring flooding

St. Paul is bracing for spring flooding as the Mississippi River rises with rapidly melting snow.

City officials have closed Lilydale Regional Park, Crosby Farm Regional Park and Hidden Falls Regional Park and the police department has moved its impound lot because of rising river water.

The City Council affirmed an emergency declaration Wednesday, setting up the city for state and federal assistance and coordinating flooding response efforts by local departments.

The National Weather Service says there's a 95 percent chance the Mississippi will reach major flood stage, or 17 feet, in St. Paul in the coming days.

Meanwhile, volunteers began to mobilize Thursday in downtown Stillwater to fill sandbags in preparation for flooding along the St. Croix River. Hundreds have signed up into the weekend.

— The Associated Press | St. Paul