A southern Minnesota dam and nearby bridge that almost collapsed in June after a bout of heavy rain and prompted a federal emergency declaration will be torn down, officials said Tuesday.

The Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners voted to remove the Rapidan Dam near the city of Mankato, about 80 miles south of Minneapolis-St. Paul, and replace the County Road 9 bridge, both of which were at risk of crumbling. The officials jump-started what will likely be a yearslong rebuilding process as the structural integrity of the dam and bridge remain uncertain.

The Blue Earth River’s water levels rose dramatically in late June after heavy rain pummeled the Upper Midwest for days. While the structures held up in the end, floodwaters forged a new river channel around the dam and cut deeply into a steep riverbank, toppling utility poles, wrecking an Xcel Energy substation, swallowing a home and forcing the removal of a beloved store and eatery.

With the specter of a future collapse still on the minds of a wary local community, officials said they had to act in the name of public safety. But they are concerned about the bridge closure’s impact on local farmers, one of the rural area’s primary economic drivers.

“We know that this is a rural community and they use (the bridge) for getting farm to market, and we know the fall harvest is coming up and it’s going to be inconvenient,” said Jessica Anderson, a spokesperson for Blue Earth County. “But safety has been our priority from Day One. And we cannot afford to jeopardize that.”

This combination of satellite images provided by MaxarTechnologies shows views of the Rapidan Dam on Minnesota’s Blue Earth River, south of Mankato, on Sept. 6, 2011, top, and bottom on June 26, 2024, after floodwaters overcame parts of the structure following days of heavy rainfall. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Vance Stuehrenberg, a Blue Earth County commissioner, said farmers might have to travel upward of 45 minutes around the bridge to reach their fields.

Floodwaters washed away large amounts of sediment, causing instability to the bridge’s supporting piers, built atop sandstone bedrock. The timeline for rebuilding it is unclear, but Anderson said it would be a matter of “years, not months.”

It was also unclear Tuesday how much the rebuilding will cost. Studies commissioned by the county in 2021 found repairing the dam would cost $15 million and removing it would cost $82 million, but Anderson said environmental conditions have changed since then when the sediment was washed downstream.

The next step will be securing funding to finance the repairs, which could come from a combination of state and federal sources. The county is working to develop a plan with federal agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Anderson said.

A federal disaster declaration was approved for Blue Earth County, and local officials said the additional resources will be critical for rebuilding efforts.

Stuehrenberg is also concerned about the impact the closure could have on recreation opportunities near the dam, which is a popular area for bike riding. Minnesota Gov. and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, who visited the dam during the flooding, is among those who used to ride his bike on a nearby trail when he lived in Mankato.

The Rapidan Dam is over a century old, finished in 1910. While it was built to generate electricity, it has been damaged by several rounds of flooding in recent decades. The dam hasn’t been producing power, as previous floods knocked out that small source of revenue.

There are roughly 90,000 significant dams in the U.S. At least 4,000 are in poor or unsatisfactory condition and could kill people and harm the environment if they failed, according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They need inspections, upgrades and even emergency repairs.

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The Minnesota Orchestra has named Brent Assink, former executive director of the San Francisco Symphony and prior president of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, to serve as its interim president and CEO.

Assink will take over from Michelle Miller Burns, who has led the orchestra since 2018 and departs in mid-September for the top administrative role with the Dallas Symphony. Based in Pasadena, Assink will split his time between Minnesota and California and will begin his new role on Sept. 9.

Brent Assink (Courtesy of the Minnesota Orchestra)

“Brent Assink is one of the great leaders of the orchestral industry,” said Minnesota Orchestra board chair Nancy Lindahl in a news release. “Having such a respected and experienced hand on the wheel during this time of transition will serve the Minnesota Orchestra well.”

A native of Washington, Brent Assink served as executive director of the San Francisco Symphony for 18 years, a time period during which the symphony significantly grew its artistic profile and community engagement. Leading the organization through the 2008 recession, he oversaw the largest endowment fundraising campaign in the symphony’s history.

Assink also spent five years in the late ’90s as president of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, during which time he restored the orchestra to stability after a fiscal crisis, launched new education and community programs and engaged Bobby McFerrin as creative chair.

“Two strands have been consistently present throughout my career: a deep appreciation for orchestras and particular gratitude for the Twin Cities community where I was shaped and mentored,” Assink said. “So, it is a joy to return to Minnesota and serve this outstanding orchestra at a pivotal time in its history.”

Lindahl has launched a search for a permanent successor to Burns, whose final day on the job is Sept. 13.

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By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, Associated Press

Vice President Kamala Harris is sitting down with CNN this week for her first interview since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

She will be joined by her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in a joint interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash in Savannah, Georgia.

The interview will air at 9 p.m. Thursday Eastern time.

Harris has been criticized for not holding news conferences or granting interviews with news outlets since Biden stepped aside on July 21.

Donald Trump’s campaign has kept a tally of the days she has gone by as a candidate without giving an interview. On Tuesday, the campaign reacted to the news by noting the interview was joint, saying “she’s not competent enough to do it on her own.”

Earlier this month, Harris had told reporters that she wanted to do her first formal interview before the end of August.

The longer Matt Wallner plays in the majors, the more comfortable he gets. The more comfortable the Twins’ outfielder gets, the more he hits.

With the exception of two games in Texas this month — 0 for 6, four strikeouts in a pair of victories over the Rangers — Wallner said he has felt good at the plate since returning to the big league club on July 7, and the numbers show it. Since then, he’s hitting .307 with 20 extra-base hits (nine of them home runs) and a 1.100 OPS.

“In Texas, I didn’t feel great. But now I feel good again,” he said before Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves at Target Field. “Now, it’s just a matter of getting a pitch to hit, honestly.”

Wallner, 27, is hitting a lot of what he can get to, and hitting it hard. His long, left-handed stroke is one of the more powerful in the majors, sending balls flying at an average speed of 94 mph, which ranks sixth among MLB hitters with at least 50 batted-ball events this season.

His max velocity of 116.8 this season ranks 11th. Always a slugger, Wallner didn’t become aware of how hard he hits the ball until fairly recently.

“I probably didn’t really care about it until a couple years ago — not that I really, really care about it,” he said. “Obviously, I want to hit the ball hard, but I didn’t even notice it until a couple years ago.”

Wallner’s fly balls and line drives this season average 99.4 mph, fourth in the majors, just below New York Yankees boppers Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, who rank 1-2-3 in FB/LD exit velocity. Judge on Sunday hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season, putting him on pace to break his own American League record of the 62 he hit in 2022.

It’s a remarkable feat at any time, but especially in a season with batting averages down. It was a league-wide .244 after Sunday’s games, a level most commonly associated with the last pitchers era in the late 1960s.

“It’s unbelievable,” Wallner said. “You look every day, he and (Shohei) Ohtani (40) have another homer. It really is unreal.”

Asked if he sees a fellow slugger like Judge and aspires to that kind of success, Wallner said, “No, I feel like he’s kind of one of a kind.”

But then he continues.

“I mean, yeah, it would be awesome,” he said. “So, yeah, I guess yes. It would be great to aspire to be that good, but I don’t look to him to see how he does stuff, or his swing or anything. But, yeah, what he does is incredible.”

The Twins will take Wallner’s current pace of production, and his improving play in left field.

“We’re working on jumps,” he said. “That’s really the one thing I need to work on, I feel — just timing, reacting once the ball’s off the bat. That’s a little bit below average. But my routes have been good. I feel like I’m making smart decisions about where to throw the ball for the most part. Little stuff like that adds up for me.”

Buxton watch

Byron Buxton missed his 13th game since pulling himself out of an 8-3 victory over Kansas City on Aug. 12. He was later placed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right hip.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said Monday that Buxton is “getting closer” and likely will be sent on a rehab assignment before rejoining the big league team.

“I’m anticipating him going on a rehab assignment when he’s ready to come back, and I think we’re getting closer to that,” he said. “We’re not there yet as far as picking dates, but I do think he will.”

Buxton has been playing center field most of the season — 69 games — after being limited to designated hitting by hip and knee injuries in 2023. Badelli said he doesn’t anticipate bringing Buxton back only as a DH.

“We’re at our best when he’s in center field,” the manager said. “We need to get him ready to come back, play the outfield. Could anything change between now and the coming weeks? Maybe. But I don’t anticipate that.”

Briefly

Left-hander Steven Okert cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Class AAA St. Paul. He is expected to report Tuesday. … Shortstop Carlos Correa missed his 35th consecutive game since being sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his right foot. … Monday’s game was halted after 1½ innings because of strong thunderstorms in the area and resumed after an 86-minute delay.

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