Federal disaster declarations approved for 22 flood-hit Minnesota counties

Federal support will soon be helping nearly two dozen Minnesota counties rebuild after this month's devastating floods.

On Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz announced that 22 counties have been approved for a federal disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This gives hard-hit communities access to public assistance in the form of reimbursement for "debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repair and replacement of damaged infrastructure."

According to a news release, this comes after Walz wrote a letter to President Joe Biden requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

The following counties were approved for assistance:

• Blue Earth
• Carver
• Cass
• Cook
• Cottonwood
• Faribault
• Fillmore
• Freeborn
• Goodhue
• Jackson
• Lake
• Le Sueur
• Murray
• Nobles
• Pipestone
• Rice
• Rock
• St. Louis
• Steele
• Wabasha
• Waseca
• Watonwan

Walz's office says 20 additional counties are currently under review, so more disaster declarations could be forthcoming.

“I’ve seen the damage across our state firsthand — it’s going to take a united effort at every level of government to quickly rebuild and recover. This assistance is going to make all the difference in that recovery,” Walz said in a statement. “I’m grateful to our partners in the federal government for doing their part, just as Minnesotans have done theirs, filling tens of thousands of sandbags, checking in on their neighbors, and volunteering their time.”

The damage has been especially pronounced in southern Minnesota, where massive erosion from the partial failure of the Rapidan Dam caused a home to collapse into the Blue Earth River — and led to the demolition of the Rapidan Dam Store, a beloved local pie shop and diner.

You can read about it right here .