Heavy rains ease drought conditions in state

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News
Last Tuesday afternoon kids were wading down the middle of the east branch of the Chippewa River as it passes through Benson Golf Course looking for golf balls. The water level barely rose above their ankles in many places.

Kids were also playing underneath the BNSF Railroad bridge with some fishing in the shallow pools. In some places along the river, the fish are trapped in the pools with the water too shallow for them to escape.

The Chippewa River’s flow is as low as it was back in 1988, a year of extreme heat and drought.

Early Friday evening the clouds opened up with the heaviest rainfall of the year. In Benson, 1.65 inches of rain fell in less than half an hour, flooding streets with water over the curbs low-lying areas...
 
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