Kandiyohi County’s Emergency Management Director, Ace Bonnema, told the county board on July 1 that the county is continuing to respond to flooding that began in mid‑June and that county and local officials have begun paperwork to request state disaster assistance.

Bonnema said county and municipal staff met with Homeland Security and Emergency Management to prepare a disaster assistance request and that preliminary estimates for public infrastructure damage are about $1,400,000. "Our threshold for qualifying for state assistance is a little more than $103,000…we're hoping the state will reimburse up to 75%, which would be over a million dollars for us," he said.

The update outlined what residents can expect in the short term and how the county is coordinating help. Bonnema said the county transitioned its emergency hotline to the Crisis Cleanup volunteer platform and provided the Crisis Cleanup phone number for residents to request work: (320) 270‑3766. He also gave the county emergency management number, (320) 235‑5133, and said sand and sandbags have been placed at the Wilmar Community Center and Big Kandiyohi Park West for residents.

The county has activated a long‑term recovery team and plans a multi‑agency resource center (MARC) to coordinate nonprofit and government services. Bonnema said the county and partners are trying to prioritize households with the greatest need and that some residents in the Raymond area have been temporarily housed in hotels through the Salvation Army and Red Cross.

Board members pressed staff for more data and requested a fuller presentation at the July 17 meeting. County staff said they are collecting drone footage, lake water levels and other data and will coordinate with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on historic-level measurements across the county.

The director repeatedly cautioned that disaster assistance requests require documentation—photos, receipts and damage inventories—and that additional rainfall could create follow‑on damage that might be considered a separate event for purposes of state assistance eligibility.

Less urgent operational notes in the update: the county had exhausted its stockpiled sandbags but secured additional supply from local businesses and neighboring counties, and public works and landfill staff were supporting response efforts.

For immediate help, residents were directed to Crisis Cleanup at (320) 270‑3766 or Kandiyohi County Emergency Management at (320) 235‑5133. The county will present final numbers and more detailed impact analysis at the July 17 board meeting.