Flooding hits for second time this spring

By Trudy Balcom

 On Monday, Clayton County was added to the Governor’s list of Iowa counties declared as  emergency disaster areas.
    While Marquette and McGregor have been spared flood damage so far, communities along the Turkey River in throughout Fayette and Clayton County are experiencing the second round of flooding since April.
    Heavy weekend rains upstream on the Turkey in Fayette and Winnesheik counties account for much of the flooding.
    Fort Atkinson got 5.30 inches of rain, Waucoma, 5.24 and Decorah received 6.6. Major flooding is occurring on the Upper Iowa River and the Cedar River as well as the Turkey River and the Volga River. The Upper Iowa River levels set a new record in Decorah at 17.9 feet; the old record of 15.2 feet was set in 1941.
    Locally heavy rains also fell in Elkader, Marquette, according to data from the National Weather Service bureau in La Crosse. Elkader received 3.31 inches of rain over the weekend, Littleport 4.5 inches, and Marquette 4.27 inches.
    Roads and bridges throughout the area have been damaged and many are closed by floodwaters. Homes and business in many communities have been affected by flooding, portions of Decorah  and Fayette were evacuated.
    Elkader residents were advised Tuesday to begin boiling their drinking water after a city water main broke. Residents are allowed to use water for bathing, but have been asked to conserve water as much as possible.
    Sandbagging operations in the towns of Elkport, Garber, Osterdock and Millville began again over the weekend. These same towns were flooded in late April—barely a month ago.
    River levels in Elkader at about 1 a.m. Monday morning  was at 21.18 feet, by Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. it hit a record 30.9 feet. Flood stage in Elkader is at 12 feet.
    At Garber, the Turkey set a new high for this year at 29 feet after midnight on Monday; on April 25 it crested at 27.98 feet.
    The Mississippi is rising as well. The river level was 13.81 feet on Tuesday at McGregor and is expected to crest just below flood stage (16 feet) at 15.5 feet around midnight on Wednesday.
    Rain and storms remain in the forecast for the week, with increasing chances of precipitation on Wednesday and Thursday.

Bridge to close?

By Trudy Balcom

 During repair work on the U.S . Hwy. 18 bridge over the Mississippi River at Marquette late last week, conditions were observed that led the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to call in bridge experts from Madison for special safety inspections. The inspections were conducted on Saturday and Monday.
    As a result of these inspections, the bridge remains open to normal traffic, but a temporary  weight limit  for  commercial vehicles was issued. Trucks are limited to no more than 80,000 pounds, the normal maximum load limit for most of the state highway system.  Trucks with overweight permits are being rerouted to US 61/151 at Dubuque.
    According to Bill Sherm, supervisor of the bridge project, on-going, in-depth inspections will continue as part of the repair project.
    Sherm said there are currently no plans to close the bridge, but he could not rule the possibility out. If safety-critical problems are discovered, the bridge could close. “We’re doing everything we can to keep it open,” Sherm said.
    The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, not Iowa, manages the maintenance of the bridge

Sheriff’s race:It’s Tschirgi vs. Hamann

By Trudy Balcom

 The most hotly contested local race in the June 3 primary was for the Clayton County Sheriff’s seat.
    Two Democrats, incumbent Robert Hamann and challenger Marvin Duff faced off  in a tight race. Incumbent Hamann edged out Duff by 63 votes; 356 votes to 293 for Duff. But Hamann also faces Republican challenger Mike Tschirgi, who is also Clayton County deputy under Hamann’s supervision.
    Mike Tschirgi, a Republican, had the advantage of running unopposed and collecting an undivided Republican vote.
    Tschirgi’s overall vote count was higher than Hamann’s:  421 to 356.
    Like the other two candidates, Tschirgi received the greatest number of votes in his home precinct—59. But voter support for Tschirgi appeared to be generally broad. Tschirgi garnered an average of 33 votes in each precinct minus the three lowest totals and including absentee ballots. By the same tally, Hamann received an average of 29 votes per precinct.
    Each candidate now has plenty of time to work on their campaign before the November election. In the general election, voters will not be required to vote straight party ticket, so people who are seeking a change in the Sheriff’s Department can vote for Tschirgi regardless of party affiliation. There has also been some talk that Duff will run a write-in campaign, but he has not confirmed this.

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