Devastation

Roughly nine inches of rain fell over the weekend in New Richland, causing flooding that resulted in the evacuation of the city operated Care Center. More than three quarters of homes were affected, says New Richland City Administrator Tyler Lendt. 

 

"It's a disaster," said Bob Johannsen, administrator for New Richland Care Center, as he surveyed the inside of the flooded building. 

 

The administrator told Kare 11 News he was called in to the Center around 3 a.m. on Saturday. By 6:30 a.m., staff began evacuations as water started to seep into the building. 

"I've never actually been through a true flood in my life. This is the worst I think I've ever seen," he said. 

 

The center’s 36 residents were initially moved to the facility’s dining room to await transport; As groups were bussed out, eventually the water rose so high that the bus could not make it back. 

 

"The last few people who went out of the building actually went out laying on top of a bed because we couldn't get any more vehicles down the road," Johannsen said. 

 

Among those who helped the center get its residents to safety were members of the NRHEG  football team. 

 

"There was a pontoon that we had and we kind of floated that out to the Care Center to get patients out, a bunch of different supplies and all that stuff," said Fynn Baumann, a senior at NRHEG. 

 

Baumann said after their team breakfast was canceled, their coach and athletic director instructed players to help take wrestling mats out of the school as water encroached. 

 

"We got there and it was way worse than we expected. There was water up to my knees, up to my waist, walking through it," Baumann said. 

 

From there, teens helped with sandbagging and then at the care center. 

 

"It wasn't just us football players. It was really everybody. The whole town. Everybody came together," he said.

 

According to Administrator Lendt, nearly 400 properties were estimated to have been affected by the flooding.

 

"My wastewater treatment plan operator said we went from 400 gallons a minute of inflow to over 1,500 gallons a minute inflow and it only took a few moments," Lendt recalled. 

 

No stranger to flooding, New Richland has seen at least four major flooding incidents over the past two decades, including 2010, 2016, 2023 and now 2026. 

 

Lendt said the city has been working for years to address the issue. 

 

"There's plans in the works. We've had engineering studies done that show where the high water mark is. We're developing the plan. We're talking to the right parties, the key members, and we're not quite to the point where all we're waiting on is funding but we're getting close to that point," Lendt said. 

 

Johannsen said, "A lot of these people have seen this before because many of our residents are local. I think it was more traumatizing for the staff because they had no idea where the residents were going to go." 

 

According to Johannsen, as of Sunday, the residents were at different care centers across the area. He is hopeful they can be back in the building in the next six months.

 

There's been an outpouring of support and more volunteers will be needed in the coming days to help with cleanup. 

 

"It was a humbling experience to go through this with a town like this. It was incredible," Lendt said. 

 

According to Lendt, the American Red Cross is helping people impacted by the floods. 

 

Locally, a benevolence fund maintained by the Area Food Shelf of New Richland is helping about 20 victims. Those interested in helping the nonprofit can send monetary donations to: AFSNR Benevolence Fund, PO Box 12, New Richland, MN 56072.