The Fergus Falls Daily Journal

Motorists may encounter daytime lane closures and trucks hauling debris on eastbound Interstate 94 east of Fergus Falls. Crews will begin permanently closing the Lake Iverson Rest Area and demolishing the facilities. Crews will remove the entrance and exit ramps, acceleration lane, rest area parking lot and all structures on the site. Work is scheduled [...]

What a difference four months makes when it comes to water levels west of Elizabeth. On May 1 a portion of Highway 10, about four miles west of Elizabeth, was closed due to high water. To the south, water flowed naturally from the south side of Oscar Lake. Today that stretch of roadway is open, [...]

Otter Tail County has come to an agreement with a landowner to allow for a pumping station north of Highway 12 near the flooded Johnson Lake east of Dalton. Work could begin in mid-September. “The bid process will begin Aug. 24,” said County Engineer Rick West. “Once the bid process is completed, we can award [...]

A frustrated county board of commissioners on Tuesday voted to speed up the process for a permanent outlet and pumping station at flooded Johnson Lake, east of Dalton. If negotiations with a landowner aren’t resolved in short order, the board will proceed with an alternative route for the outlet. In order to speed up the [...]

Adverse effects of high water at lakes in Otter Tail County are especially evident at three lakes west of Perham. In many cases, cabins are surrounded by water at Devils Lake, Little McDonald Lake and Paul Lake. At Devils Lake, retiree Clarence Bernier is more fortunate than many of his neighbors. His cabin is on [...]

Otter Tail County, through the County Highway Department, is collecting data that will be forwarded to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). The goal is to obtain federal funding assistance to help offset expenses related to high water issues in 2011. Last week FEMA officials spent time in Otter Tail County, conducting a field inspection. “Reimbursement [...]

Last month work was completed for a piping system to draw down water from Sand Lake, north of Pelican Rapids, along Highway 59. A short while later the outlet and pumping system became operational. Water flows southward into the Pelican River and from there enters Prairie Lake, northeast of Pelican Rapids. Earlier this year the [...]

Predicted rainfall of two to three inches in the next few days will not be good for some county roads already threatened by high water. Adverse effects also will take place at some area lakes. Otter Tail County Engineer Rick West and his staff will keep close watch along roadways at the intersection of highways [...]

Installation of riprap along shorelines, and use of sandbagging when needed, should come well ahead of topsoil brought in to restore lawns in front of lake dwellings. That’s the word from Otter Tail County’s Land and Resource Department. “What we don’t want right now is topsoil unnecessarily brought to lakes,” said department head Bill Kalar [...]

Maintenance of county roads related to high water and flood damage totaled $348,666 for 2010. Included in the dollar amount was work along 34 different county highways. An example is work along Highway 88, northwest of Fergus Falls, which totaled $50,799 in 2010. “Those funds were needed to raise the roadway before paving this past [...]