Scrutiny on Blue Earth County following Rapidan Dam disaster

• The new bridge alone will cost $18 million.

What they're saying: The dam disaster "was all completely avoidable," former dam manager Ron Jordan told KSTP, noting that pictures showed debris at the site days beforehand.

• "[The county] did not lift a finger to get rid of these trees piling up in front of the gates. They're plugging the gates."

The other side: Blue Earth County officials disputed Jordan's claims, telling the news station that debris wasn't a concern until the day before the failure.

• By then, unusually high floodwaters would've made removing the debris unsafe.

Catch up quick: The dam has long been a conundrum for the county.

• Despite severe damage from a 2019 flood, a consultant told the county as recently as January that the dam wasn't at risk.
• Assured by these reports, county commissioners opted against what could've been an $82 million project to remove the dam.

The bottom line: Now, "removing [the dam] seems the only option," commissioner Vance Stuehrenberg said at a recent meeting, according to the Free Press.