Flooding forces Harriet Island and Valleyfair to cancel events as water rises in Twin Cities metro

A state of emergency is in effect in St. Paul where the river is expected to rise another foot before cresting on Saturday, prompting the closure of several roads, trails and parks, including most of Harriet Island.

With water filling the Wigington Pavilion at the popular downtown park, the city has canceled 11 events at the shelter, including graduation parties, family picnics and one company picnic through July 7, said spokeswoman Clare Cloyd.

Surprisingly, no weddings were scheduled this weekend or next, she said.

Picnic permits for the Crosby Farm Regional Park picnic shelter have also been canceled, Cloyd said.

Meanwhile, high water on the Minnesota River has forced Valleyfair to shut down three rides, shorten park hours and cancel July 4 fireworks.

The amusement park will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily until water recedes and its waterpark, Soak City, will be open only 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, Valleyfair said Friday in an email.

The Mississippi River was expected to reach 20.8 feet in the downtown St. Paul area before water levels drop, the National Weather Service said. If that mark is reached, it would be the seventh-highest crest ever. Flooding begins when the river reaches 14 feet.

With damage expected, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution declaring the emergency, allowing the city to seek county, state and federal resources.

At a news conference Friday, Gov. Tim Walz, Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Director Tom Sivak repeatedly warned residents to remain cautious while driving and while out on lakes and rivers over the holiday weekend.

"We're still in a dangerous situation," the governor said. "It's still very unpredictable."

The three also urged those whose property has been damaged to take time-stamped photographs of the debris in their yards and basements. "Pictures are worth a thousand words to us," Sivak said.

Document the cleanup as well, he said.

"We know that recovery is a long road and we recognize that there will be challenges ahead, especially on the mental health side," Sivak said.

Minnesota's entire congressional delegation on Friday urged President Biden to a disaster declaration Walz submitted a day earlier.

In coming weeks as the water recedes, FEMA and Department of Homeland Security employees will visit affected communities to talk to residents, alerting them in advance through county officials of their presence. Sivak said the employees will be dressed in FEMA gear, have federal identification badges and won't ask for personal information. But Sivak also said residents should not wait to reach out to their insurance companies to report damage.

Dan Hawblitzel, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service, said Friday's overnight rain wasn't enough to add to the flooding. "The rivers can take quite a bit more water than what fell last night," he said at a news conference with Walz. "The good news is we are now going into another stretch of a drier weekend, fortunately, which will allow a lot of these floodwaters to continue to recede, and that has been the case across much of the state so far."

Hawblitzel said the Cannon and Des Moines rivers will continue to go down, with the Minnesota River still cresting at points. It hit record stage in Jordan on Friday morning and is expected to crest in Savage on Sunday, but not at a record. The Minnesota River also will cause major flooding in St. Paul as it empties into the Mississippi River, Hawblitzel said.

A crest in St. Paul is expected Saturday night just above what it reached in 2019 and its highest since 2001. The crest will then cause major flooding toward Hastings until it hits the St. Croix River, moderating the flood levels from Winona on down, he said. After a dry weekend, Hawblitzel warned they're watching another wet system approaching that could bring up to 2 inches of rain. That rain won't exacerbate the floods, but it will extend the drying process.

Earlier this week, Stillwater said it was scrubbing July 4th fireworks due to high water on the St. Croix River but would try to reschedule them later in the summer.

Though floodwater is beginning to drop slightly in some parts of the state, flood warnings remain in effect along several rivers, including the Crow River in Wright County, the Minnesota River from New Ulm through Mankato and to Savage in the south metro, the Mississippi River from St. Paul to Hastings to Red Wing, and the St. Croix River near Stillwater. The Cannon River in the Northfield area also remained above flood stage, the National Weather Service said.

In a piece of good news, the Minnesota Department of Transportation was able to reopen Hwy. 169 north of Le Sueur on Thursday after crews pumped water from the highway and installed a "worm dike" to keep the water back. But the highway remained closed Friday morning south of Le Sueur to St. Peter, the agency said.

Other routes, including Hwy. 99 east of St. Peter and Hwy. 22 from Kasota to Mankato, remained closed.