REGIONAL - Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday authorized reimbursement to Nobles County and Rock County for repairs made due to an April 13-14 winter storm that caused power outages, flooding and wind damage.
Nobles County was given $41,783 in state disaster assistance. Rock County, in which most power lines were downed, was given $546,665.
In Nobles County, the funds will go to the city of Ellsworth, including Parkview Manor, Nobles Cooperative Electric and Leota Township. Ellsworth went without power for around 80 hours.
Nobles County Emergency Management Director Joyce Jacobs submitted a request to Gov. Dayton for emergency funds on May 11. She got everything she asked for - except for money to reimburse Elk Township for flood damage on roads, as it occured before April 13. The state reimburses 75 percent of all money spent by local communities on damage.
Jacobs included in her request around $25,000 for Leota Township when a culvert experienced a washout after the storm ended. The state initially wasn’t going to include the damage in its disaster funding, as it took place following the weekend storms. Thanks in part to lobbying from District 22 Sen. Bill Weber, R-Luverne, the state extended its window to include all storm damage that came from April 13 to May 4.
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Rock County got the full 75 percent of the $728,886 in damage it requested. It received more than $300,000 for Sioux Valley Energy and nearly $200,000 for L&O Cooperative, along with funds for the Rock County Highway Department, Beaver Creek and Magnolia.
St. Louis County was also given assistance Friday - to the tune of $506,250.
