Drought worsens for state while Mankato area spared the worst

Tim Krohn, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Aug. 5—MANKATO — The newest U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows conditions worsening in much of the state, with the immediate Mankato area still in relatively decent shape, thanks to timely rains.

Compared to last week, there was a 14% jump in the area of extreme drought in the state, leaving more than one-third of Minnesota in extreme drought. The extreme drought area grew from 22% of the state last week to 35%.

Most of Blue Earth and Nicollet counties remain in a "moderate drought," along with counties to the east and southeast.

Counties to the west and north of Mankato are either in a severe drought or extreme drought.

Several counties just to the northwest of Mankato are in a growing area of extreme drought, and extreme drought began to creep up into Minnesota at the Iowa border.

Most of North Dakota is now in extreme drought as are large swaths of most western states.

River, lakes dropping

Area streams and lakes continue to see levels fall as they reach near record lows.

At Mankato, the Minnesota River is at just 1.2 feet. The record low was 0.30 feet in 1934. In 1976 the river fell to 0.50 feet.

The Minnesota River at Henderson was 712.06 feet above sea level Thursday. The record low at Henderson was 711.19 feet in 2012.

At New Ulm, the Minnesota River was at 784.82. Low water records there were not currently available on the National Weather Service site.

The St. Croix River at Stillwater has become nearly impassable to boaters, and the most celebrated rivers along the North Shore are at a trickle, spoiling the roaring flows visitors are accustomed to seeing and hearing.

Many lakes are continuing to see falling levels, in some cases making it difficult and risky to launch and use boats.

Crops whither

While corn and soybean crops in Blue Earth, Nicollet and counties to the east and southeast remain in good shape because of small but timely rains during the past couple of months, farmers in much of the rest of the state are watching crops whither.

In parts of western and northern Minnesota, some farmers are beginning to harvest stunted corn crops that have dried up.

Gov. Tim Walz and other top lawmakers said at Farmfest Wednesday they expect to pass an emergency financial aid package for farmers during a special session in September.

Beyond ruined crops in many areas, cattle producers have found it difficult to find enough pasture land or hay.