Rainfall swamps southwest Minnesota, closes highways

Residents in southwest Minnesota awoke to flooded yards and closed roads Saturday after heavy rains overnight.

Approximately 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in parts of southwest Minnesota starting late Friday night, Scott Morgan, a MnDOT assistant maintenance engineer based in Mankato, said in a phone call Saturday.

“They had some really intense rains,” said Morgan, who on Friday said the region saw as much as 7 inches of rain in some parts.

A portion of Interstate 90 briefly closed Saturday morning to set up cones where the rain damaged the highway’s shoulder, Morgan said.

Near the South Dakota border, Hwy. 14 east of Lake Benton closed Saturday in both directions due to flooding.

“Nearly every road in VERDI Township AND LAKE BENTON Township is currently under water in spots, especially the low areas,” a post by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department said.

Other roads in southwest Minnesota, including Hwy. 60 from Worthington to Windom, remained closed Saturday morning. Near Mankato, Hwy. 30 near Mapleton and Hwy. 14 near Eagle Lake closed Saturday morning.

Hwy. 99 near St. Peter and Hwy. 19 near Henderson, both which closed earlier this week, remain restricted.

Residents in Windom, where heavy rains have caused the Des Moines River and Perkins Creek to overflow, said they woke up to water flowing into their basements.

“All of us are pretty wet,” said Warren Winkel of Windom in a phone call Saturday morning. He said he has about 4 feet of water in his basement.

The rain began with an intense shower around 8:30 p.m. on Friday that tapered off, but continued to fall until 4 a.m. Saturday, Winkel said.

The 85-year-old retired construction manager said he has owned his home near Perkins Creek since the 1970s and is used to the creek flooding. He built a brick patio to contain the water, and seemed confident about his prospects when asked Friday night.

On Saturday morning, however, he said he couldn’t believe how fast the water rose. “This is by far the worst that I’ve seen,” he said of this year’s flood.

His neighbor Joe Fischenich, who lives next to Perkins Creek, said that he’s lived in Windom all his life but that this year’s flooding also surprised him.

“I’ve never seen it like this,” he said of the creek, which he said last year was almost dry.