Minnesota Governors Office Press Conference: Thomson, MN Flood 2012

Nice close and flood debris

Promises amidst destruction

Engineers explain the loss of our water and sewer lines to the river

Meanwhile, despite the lack of a disaster declaration:  Thomson residents clean up

To get Federal assistance a region must first be declared a disaster zone by the state legislature and the Governor of Minnesota.  In order to make that happen, state representatives need to view the damage and report the costs of the loses due to the disaster.  Thomson, MN became the site of the reporting of those damages last week.  It was interesting to see suited folks wandering the disaster zone, amid the debris and waste caused by the flood.  People just kept cleaning while the state reps and the Lt. Governor walked around almost as though they were in a museum, pointing, nodding and exclaiming oohs and ahhs as they put together what had happened to our town.  It seemed very unreal and although it was meant to call attention to Thomson's plight, it actually made me feel like we were even more on our own.