BEMIDJI — Beltrami County Emergency Management announced Gov. Tim Walz authorized the county's request to use the state's disaster relief account.
The Minnesota Disaster Assistance Contingency Account was created to assist communities with recovering from natural disasters that don't meet the threshold for federal assistance.
The storm damage to public infrastructure from June 21 fell about $800,000 short of a federal declaration. That threshold is set at $10.7 million, and Beltrami County's damage alone tallied more than $8 million.
The account's creation is also credited to Bemidji's last devastating windstorm in 2012, which also fell short of a federal declaration.
Gov. Walz's authorization on Tuesday, Aug. 12, also approved disaster relief for the White Earth Nation, as well as the counties of Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen and Todd.
The state's account provides 75% of reimbursements to local governments through counties, and follows the Federal Emergency Management Agency's guidance.
The state's disaster relief does not assist individual property owners.
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