By Mary Lynn Smith

and Bill McAuliffe

Fresh off a new storm that dumped at least another half-inch of rain in parts of the Twin Cities area Monday, federal and state officials will be back at work Tuesday assessing flood damage from the state’s rainiest June.

With waters receding in many areas, life is returning to normal. Farmers are back in the field; boaters are returning to lakes, and most of the roads and bridges that had to be closed have been reopened.

Recreational boaters are now able to travel the length of the Mississippi River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reopened three locks Monday that had been closed for more than a month due to heavy flows.

The locks reopened to commercial traffic Saturday.

Local officials throughout the state estimate that the season’s record rains caused tens of millions dollars worth of damage.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured four southwestern counties last week and return this week to tour another 15. The damage estimate is needed before the governor can ask for a presidential declaration of disaster and federal money that probably will apply only to public property —roads, bridges, parks and schools —and not homes.

Along Minnesota’s northern border, the swollen Rainy River is beginning to recede, but Voyageurs National Park has closed all of its backcountry trails and campsites for two weeks while officials there assess and repair the flood damage. Officials hope to reopen that area by July 21. The closure does not include most of the boat-in campsites on the main Voyageurs lakes, though several reservable campsites that were closed earlier remain closed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Distributed by MCT Information Services