Minnesota Assisting Nebraska in Flooding

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed an emergency executive order to provide aerial assistance to flood-stricken Nebraska. The order came after Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts requested Minnesota Army National Guard helicopter support.

Minnesota sent one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with 10 personnel to support flood response operations in Nebraska on Wednesday morning. Minnesota Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen says in a statement that the emergency executive order will remain in effect until the emergency flood conditions in Nebraska ease.

Snowmelt and rainfall have led to massive flooding this month in the Midwest, especially in Nebraska, southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri.

Union Pacific says its crews are working around the clock so rail traffic can return to normal in Nebraska and adjacent states hard hit by floodwaters from a late-winter storm and snowmelt.

She says water remains over portions of the tracks between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Kansas City, Kansas. The company is unsure when that line can be reopened. Levees have been breached or overtopped in southwest Iowa.

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