[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz today announced that President Joe Biden has approved his request for a major disaster declaration for 23 Northern Minnesota counties impacted by tornadoes and flooding on May 29 and 30.

“This spring’s severe weather devastated homes and businesses across our state – but we continue to work with our partners at the local and federal levels to recover,” said Governor Walz. “I’m grateful for this assistance as we work to rebuild.”

The disaster declaration has been approved for Aitkin, Big Stone, Cass, Chippewa, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Itasca, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lyon, Nobles, Pine, Pope, Renville, Rock, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, and Yellow Medicine counties.

This federal disaster declaration unlocks public assistance for these counties and tribal nations to assist with emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

The federal government recently approved Governor Walz’s requests for tornado recovery assistance for 23 counties impacted by tornadoes, flooding, and storms in early May and 15 counties impacted by severe storms from late April to early June.