The Free Press
MANKATO —
In less than a day, the lower field area and parking lot at the dog park along Highway 169 flooded with three feet of moving water from the Minnesota River about 1⁄4 mile away.
On Tuesday, Kali Quotes brought her husky and two German shepherd mixes to the lower part of the park to run. Aside from a few muddy spots, the ground was dry. She came back on Wednesday, and she could barely see the top of the fence line of the lower park. The river had flooded through the woods and the park, stopping at the embankment along the paved trail.
“It was like, ‘Woah, what happened?’” said Quotes, who goes to the park almost every day. “Tuesday the snow was gone. It was actually dry.”
Thursday the water had risen about another foot. Another noticeable sight was the deer droppings every few feet surrounding the top dog park area and along the trail, presumably from the deer pushed out of the flooded woods to higher ground.
The deer movement caused six deer-vehicle collisions Thursday between Mankato and St. Peter, said Minnesota Department of Transportation Highway Maintenance Supervisor Woody Woodruff. MnDOT is urging drivers to use caution on roads near rivers.
“They’re moving to higher ground — and the higher ground is our roads,” Woodruff said.
Rebecca Arndt, MnDOT spokeswoman, said it’s unclear if or when Highway 169 might be closed due to flooding. She said the highway probably wouldn’t close Thursday, but that’s as far into the future as she could predict.
“We’re watching, but we don’t know,” she said. “We will try and leave it open as long as we can. ... We will actually close lanes before we close the whole road.”
The National Weather Service reported that at 25 feet, Highway 169 between St. Peter and Mankato begins flooding at various places.
Arndt said MnDOT is readying for potential flooding problems by gathering sandbags and barricades and other supplies. While the river is predicted to crest at Mankato today, Arndt said that’s only an estimation.
“With the log jams and different tributaries opening up at different times ... it’s too hard to say,” she said.
Shelly Schulz, spokeswoman for the city of Mankato, said city officials are monitoring the river situation closely, including doing dike patrols and monitoring pumping stations. As of Thursday afternoon, the river was at 24 feet and expected to crest at just below 26 feet.
New closures Thursday included the north end of Sibley Park; the Minnesota River trail from Riverfront Park to the south end of Sibley; and the entrance to Seven Mile Creek park was blocked off, too. Land of Memories Park remains closed.
Road closures include Highway 93 from Highway 169 into Le Sueur, which closed noon Thursday. Highway 93 from Henderson to 169 closed Tuesday, and Highway 19 from Henderson to 169 closed Wednesday.
“They’re closing things gradually as the river rises,” Schulz said. “It’s really difficult to predict what’s next.”
Schulz said the city is advising all residents to adhere to closures for safety purposes. While the flood water might not look deep, there are currents that can be dangerous.
Mark Knoff, director of public works, said the water levels have begun to stabilize, so the worst of the flooding at the dog park and other parks might be over. It’s unclear how much damage might have been done.
“We’ll assess afterward,” he said.
For now, Quotes and a few other people who visited the dog park Thursday afternoon said they plan to use the top part of the dog park for the next few weeks until the water recedes and the ground dries.
“They get antsy if they don’t run,” Quotes said.
