Minn. River Rising In Scott County; More Rain Expected
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (WCCO) -- People who live along the Minnesota River in communities like Shakopee, Savage, Jordan and Chaska are keeping close tabs on rapidly rising floodwaters.
Heavy rains in the past few days are pushing up floodwaters and with more rain on the way the Minnesota River is expected to keep rising.
Chris Weldon, the emergency management director for Scott County, said he's used to dealing with flooding on the Minnesota River in the spring, but not on the first day of summer.
NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Steve Murphy Reports
Podcast
"It just seems like it's been many, many years since we've had to worry about this -- this time of the year," said Weldon.
And they are worried about it.
"We've got some water rising on the river by Jordan; it looks like Jordan's already in minor flood stage," Weldon said.
Officials are keeping close a watch on river crossings such as Highways 41 and 101 and County Road 9.
With his fifth wheel RV surrounded by rising waters, for Dale Schnicker it was clearly time to head to higher ground and move his RV.
"This morning I could still walk outside my door, it was wet but since then ... and it's still rising," said Schnicker, who is camping at Shakopee Valley RV Park.
He's not alone. Of the 100 campsites at the park along the Minnesota River, 35 of them are underwater. And with more rain in the forecast, owner Dave Rose is keeping his fingers crossed.
"So what we do is people just move to a little higher ground and spend the day in the hot tub and the pool and just enjoy themselves and right now we have 2 feet before we have to worry about the next 40 sites," said Rose.
Rose just finished cleaning up showers and restrooms at Shakopee Valley RV Park after the spring floods.
"We just grin and bear it and charge extra for lakeshore view but we'll probably throw that in this time," he said.
That's an attitude that campers like Dale Schnicker can relate to.
"I can laugh at it cause I've been through worse situations. I retired seven years ago and this is my full lifestyle as a full time RVer. Just another kink in the road and I just move on," he said.
