ROCHESTER, MN – Today, Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01) celebrated the announcement of a $5,000,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program to help fund repairs to damaged roads and bridges that resulted from last year’s historic flooding across southern Minnesota.

These federal funds will aid numerous communities across the First District after record rainfall and subsequent flooding in 2024 caused damage to critical infrastructure across southern Minnesota, including the now-demolished Rapidan Dam in Blue Earth County, and the adjacent County Road 9 bridge.

Last June, Congressman Finstad met with local leaders to survey damage and discuss recovery efforts in Minnesota’s First District, including Madelia, rural Watonwan County, Jackson, Waseca, and Mankato.

Congressman Finstad applauded the DOT announcement saying, “Over the past year, I have been in close communication with local officials and emergency personnel whose communities are facing extensive road repairs after last year’s flooding, especially in rural areas where township and county roads were inaccessible due to high water levels and, in some cases, have been indefinitely closed.

“I am glad to see these federal dollars brought back home to southern Minnesota, which will provide our communities with much-needed financial assistance to rebuild the roads and bridges that our friends and neighbors rely on in the First District.”