As Minnesota National Guard soldiers stacked sandbags along County Road 133 Saturday, Sen. Al Franken rolled up his sleeves and offered his help.
“That’s hard work,” he said after tossing about a dozen bags to one of the 108 soldiers of Troop C, 1st Squadron, 94th Cavalry helping with the flood relief efforts in Borderland.
Franken toured areas affected by the flood around International Falls and Ranier Saturday before shaking hands and offering words of gratitude to volunteers at Kerry Park.
“It’s incredibly impressive,” the senator said of relief efforts. “It’s great to see the community come together.”
Franken and his staff have been making their way across the state visiting areas impacted by flooding. Koochiching County is one of 35 Minnesota counties under a state of emergency, declared by Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday.
While in the southern part of the state, the senator said the damage is extensive, but the fight put up in International Falls is grueling.
“You’re putting up the longest fight that I’ve seen,” Franken said of Borderland. “I definitely wanted to get up here.”
The senator’s focus drifted back to his amazement of the neighbor-helping-neighbor effort happening during the natural disaster.
“I’ve seen unbelievably impressive work across the state,” he said. “The most impressive thing here is the volunteers. These people are helping out of the sense of community and for their fellow citizens. People should really see this.”
