I spent two years living in Mankato, Minnesota. In the grand scheme of my life thus far, that is starting to feel like a blink. Even so, Mankato made its mark on me, and I still hold dear some of the folks that I met while I was there. Which is why when I first heard about the issues at the Rapidan Dam due to the unprecedented flooding southern Minnesota has been dealing with, my heart broke, and I couldn’t look away.
Yeah, not my typical post, I know. But here we are anyway. (I should note I was in Mankato for grad school. This is where I earned my MFA in creative writing and where my advocacy was first ignited.)
On Monday, June 23, Mankato and the surrounding area was under a severe weather watch, which, well, let’s just say they didn’t need more rain? In the wee hours of that next morning, there were reports of debris and water flowing over the dam. Crews, including the fire station (it’s an Excel energy dam, and there was concern the substation might start on fire), arrived to assess. Water breeched the western side of the dam and began carving out the land. The Blue Earth County/Mankato Area Facebook page has been gathering articles, alerts, photos, and drone footage over the next six, providing updates about the situation.
In less than one day, the river had eaten away enough land that it threatened to drop the Hruska family home into the river (note red circle on image below). The family had removed what they could on the off chance that this would indeed happen, and then they waited. The next evening, enough of the ground beneath the home had eroded, and the house fell. Attention then turned to the Rapidan Store, the family’s livelihood. (note orange circle on image below).
The river continued to eat away at the bank, even as the water levels dropped (far enough that the water was no longer running through the dam), and began to threaten the structural integrity of CT 9 bridge located behind the dam.
On Friday, June 28, the family, along with local officials, made the decision to demolish the store to keep it from falling into the river and causing problems upstream. They had looked at the possibility of moving the structure, but it wasn’t safe to bring in the necessary equipment, so they stripped everything from inside and accepted a purchase agreement from Blue Earth County.
It’s astonishing how quickly this all evolved. It’s heart breaking watching this family go through this – but also heartening to see the Mankato community gathering support for them.
If you are at all interested in donating to help the family rebuild their lives, please consider the official GoFundMe (this is the link shared by official outlets). You can also donate through the Rapidan Heritage Society* (GoFundMe does take a fee – all funds through RHS go straight to the family).
*Rapidan Heritage donation information:
You can send checks to Rapidan Heritage Society with “Hruska Family” in the memo line.
A Community Bank account has been set up for the family, as well. You can make check or cash donations at the following locations:
- Community Bank Locations: “The Rapidan Dam Store”Mankato : 201 Poplar Street, Mankato, MN 56001All Community Bank locations can accept donations.
- Minn Star Bank locations:
- Mankato: 201 Poplar Street, Mankato, MN 56001
- Lake Crystal: 202 North Main Street, Mankato, MN 56055
Ami Maxine 