ST. PAUL - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz requested a presidential disaster declaration for 51 counties and four tribal governments in Minnesota damaged by spring flooding, blizzard conditions and force winds.
In his letter signed Tuesday to President Donald Trump, Walz makes specific mention to the April 10-12 ice storm across southern Minnesota that toppled an estimated 3,000 power poles, knocking out power to 100,000 - some for up to seven days.
He references how the power outages affected Bigelow in Nobles County.
“The city of Bigelow rotated generators from house to house to power furnaces and provide heat, especially in homes with elderly adults or young children,” Walz’s letter stated, adding that the damage to utilities from the ice storm event totaled $14 million.
According to the letter, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety - along with tribal and county emergency managers - tallied $39,257,773 in infrastructure damage across Minnesota from March 12 to April 28. The threshold required for a federal declaration is $8 million.
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If the presidential disaster declaration is granted, FEMA would fund 75% of approved costs and the state of Minnesota would pay the remaining 25%.
