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Heavy Rain Swamps Portions of Several Midwestern States

In Iowa, several northeastern counties saw flash flooding, with more rain expected Thursday, as well as the possibility of hail and strong winds.

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“They were swimming all the way like a dog”, neighbor Logan DeWitz said. Crews placed sandbags to protect the Faribault Woolen Mill, a popular tourism destination, and built a berm to keep the water out of the Caves of Faribault, which are known for their award-winning, cave-aged blue cheeses.

A train has derailed in southwestern Wisconsin after rain washed out tracks along the Mississippi River.

To the southwest, the city of Faribault declared a state of emergency as it worked to hold back the Cannon and Straight Rivers.

Men move a tractor to higher ground in Greene, Iowa, as the Shell Rock River rises into residential areas Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016.

Just across the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, residents of Victory, a tiny community at the base of a river bluff, were recovering from torrential rains, flooding and mudslides that caused two deaths.

Residents and volunteers in St. Clair, Minn., lay down sandbags to protect the citys’ water treatment plant from the rising Le Sueur River Thursday morning, September 22, 2016.

People in the towns of Clarksville and Shell Rock filled sandbags in preparation for the river’s crest on Friday. She said she spent a restless Thursday night at her new home at a higher elevation, away from the danger.

Water was 4 feet high during the 2008 flood and the Smiths rebuilt. Several Midwestern states were a soggy mess Thursday after up to 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

So far this year, more than 30 inches of rain has fallen on Minneapolis, making it the wettest year since modern recordkeeping began.

State emergency and BNSF Railway officials say the seven-car train derailed early Thursday morning about 25 miles north of Prairie du Chien in Crawford County. BNSF crews placed booms downstream to capture the fuel.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in several Iowa cities were mobilizing resources Friday to handle flooding from a rain-swollen river that has forced evacuations in several communities upstream, while a Wisconsin town was recovering from storms now blamed for two deaths.

The National Weather Service says Waseca has been hit with 13.91 inches of rain in the last 48 hours. In downtown Minneapolis, the Minnesota Twins baseball game was delayed Wednesday night due to rain and then rescheduled for 1:10 p.m. Thursday, when it will be the first game in a split doubleheader. As much as 8 to 10 inches of rain inundated the Twin Cities area Wednesday night with more rain forecast for Thursday.

At least three tornadoes were reported Wednesday evening in parts of southern Floyd County and northern Butler County, but no serious damage, according to the National Weather Service.

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Seventy miles south in Waseca, which saw almost 14 inches of rain over two days. Classes were canceled Thursday in Waseca and several other school districts because of flooded roads.

Heavy rain swamps portions of several Midwestern states