Flood Briefs: St. Louis County emergency declared

St. Louis County commissioners declared a state of emergency Tuesday to pave the way for the county to receive state and federal disaster money for flood cleanup and repair.

Dozens of county roads remain closed as county crews work to renew access for rural residents by filling washouts and replacing culverts.

Commissioners also passed a resolution waiving tipping fees for flood-related waste at its Brookston, Aurora and Hibbing transfer stations and the Cotton, Meadowlands, Makinen and Lavell canister sites through Friday.

Red Cross closes, reopens shelter

The Red Cross closed its Duluth shelter Tuesday afternoon only to reopen it in the evening after receiving calls from people who had run out of temporary housing options.

Even as it announced plans to close the shelter at 802 E. Central Entrance, the agency said it was ready to open more shelter space if the need arose.

“We were ready for a potential second wave of shelter clients,” Judy Hanne Gonzalez, executive director of the Northland Chapter, said in a news release. ”People have done everything they could to bridge the time until they could get back into their homes. Some now realize that isn’t happening anytime soon and they have run out of options.”

Hanne Gonzalez said the Red Cross is beginning one-on-one casework, with volunteers ready to evaluate and help meet the needs of individual families. Residents affected by the floods who would like assistance from the Red Cross should call the Northland Chapter at (218) 722-0071.

Meetings set in Carlton County

Several flood-related community meetings will be held in Carlton County today and Thursday, the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office has announced.

A meeting will be held at 6 p.m. today at the Kettle River Fire Department, 3977 Main St. in Kettle River. On Thursday, a meeting begins at 5 p.m. at Carlton County Shops, 1630 County Road 61 in Carlton and another at 7 p.m. at Thomson Town Hall, 25 E. Harney Road in Thomson.

Glensheen garden wall collapsed

Although Glensheen escaped flood damage building-wise, about 100 feet of the red brick wall with a marble top lining the estate on London Road didn’t fare so well during last’s week’s flooding.

“When the water rushed down 32nd (Avenue East), it overwhelmed the drains and it pushed the wall and it fell into Tischer Creek,” said Bill Payne, dean of the University of Minnesota Duluth’s School of Fine Arts, which oversees Glensheen. “There was no damage to the house.”

Some underground machinery was uncovered near the shore, but that’s been taken care of, Payne said.

He’s not yet sure what repairs will cost. The part of the wall that was knocked down is between the cemetery and the west gate. UMD is preparing a total damage report from the flood, and the wall will be part of it, Payne said.

Estimating the cost of re-creating something that is historic is difficult, he said, and UMD engineers and the Minnesota Historical Society are working on it.

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