Northfield Prepares For Cannon River Flooding
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- People living along the Cannon River in Northfield are holding their breath until the water crests.
Rice County was under a flash flood warning Friday after a few inches of rain fell. Some businesses in Northfield are putting up sand bags in case the river continues to rise.
"The Cannon River Watershed Area is rather large, so all the areas south of us, in the Owatonna area and surrounding areas, all that watershed that empties into the Cannon River, it all comes up here," Northfield Mayor Dana Graham said.
Volunteers spent Friday sandbagging the outside of the Froggy Bottoms River Pub, located along the river. That restaurant has flooded before after heavy rain.
Owner Laurie Hoheisel told WCCO the water level is already five-feet higher than it was earlier this week. She is worried that even if it stays dry this weekend, there is still the potential that water that has collected up river could be too much for their channel to handle.
"Very scary," Hoheisel said. "There isn't anything you can do, but I also have a beautiful spot on the river so it's one of those things if we have to do this and it doesn't come over the wall, then it's worth it."
City officials believe the river will continue to rise in Northfield for another 24 to 48 hours, so they said they should be in the clear after Monday if conditions stay dry.
