Tuesday, May 22, 2012
A rebuilt structure at BAE Systems was the most expensive repair.
How badly did the May 22, 2011 tornado hit Fridley's commercial buildings? Ron Julkowski, City of Fridley commercial building official, said 90 percent of repairs have been completed, though the city is waiting on insurance claims adjusters to make a final determination on pricing and damages for the remaining jobs. “It was mainly roofs and very minor constructional stuff,” Julkowski said. “An overhanging roof, a tree limb through the rafters, that’s mainly been the extent in Fridley. It was wind and blown down trees, basically.” Julkowski said the City of Minneapolis waterworks, located on East River Road in far southwest Fridley, suffered roof brick damage from flying debris. Many industrial buildings along Main Street NE saw damage too…
What the hardest-hit areas of Golden Valley look like one year after the May 22, 2011 tornado.
May 22 marks the one-year anniversary of a tornado that swept through several cities, including St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, Fridley and Golden Valley. Golden Valley Patch revisited the damaged areas in Golden Valley and compiled a photo gallery to look at the improvements made in one year. Upload your photos or leave a comment about what you recall from that day last year.
The May 22, 2011 twister that hit Fridley started its day's work in St. Louis Park.
One year ago Tuesday, a tornado touched down in St. Louis Park near the intersection of highways 394 and 100, eventually moving north into Golden Valley, Fridley and Minneapolis. St. Louis Park was spared the worst of the twister, as the storm intensified as it moved into Minneapolis, causing widespread damage in North Minneapolis. Still, there was damage in the Park. Power was knocked out at the Sabes Jewish Community Center. The Nestle Healthcare Nutrition facility sprung a gas leak and sustained roof damage. And the Cedar Trails Condominiums in the 4500 block of Cedar Lake Road took the brunt of the storm in SLP, as a number of units were hit by fallen trees and other debris. This included the residence of Victor Valdez, who was inside …
Feds reimbursed 75 percent, state 25 percent; insurance paid nearly $10K.
It took the May 22, 2011 tornado less than an hour to wreak havoc enough to wrack up $125,000 in expenses for the City of Fridley. Then it took almost a year for the federal and state governments to reimburse Fridley for those costs. But now they have, almost. Fridley Finance Director Darin Nelson said by email Monday that only last week did reimbursements covering most of the public-infrastructure damage from last spring's tornado arrive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The FEMA aid became available after President Obama included Fridley in his declaration of a federal disaster on June 7, 2011. (See a timeline of milestones along the way to the disaster declaration, …
Monday, May 21, 2012
Fridley was in the storm's crosshairs for a while, the radar record shows.
The National Weather Service has put together a page of images and information about the tornado that struck Fridley on May 22, 2011. Here is one of the features, showing a radar loop of the thunderstorm that moved across Minneapolis. The loop begins at 2:00 PM CDT on May 22nd, and ends at 3:00 PM CDT. Other posts to check out:
Add your location and story to our interactive map.
Tell us where you were when the twister hit by clicking the "Add" button in the top, right corner of the interactive map and fill out the fields that pop up, including details on your experience during the tornado.
The twister tore through Minneapolis and Fridley, as well as St. Louis Park and Golden Valley.
What are your memories from the May 22, 2011, tornado that swept through the Twin Cities? Upload a photo or video above, and leave a comment below. Also, tell us where you were when the twister hit by clicking the "Add" button in the top, right corner of the interactive map and fill out the fields that pop up, including details on your experience during the tornado.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Aid to Anoka County cities and nonprofits not affected.
Here is the June 13 letter from the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) denying Gov. Dayton's request for federal assistance to individuals to cover uninsured losses and other costs from the May 22 tornado. Dayton had asked FEMA in a May 27 letter for several kinds of federal aid, including assistance for individuals in Hennepin County—which is what FEMA turned down this week. President Obama declared a major national disaster June 7, freeing federal funds for assistance and granting aid to cover 75 percent of tornado-related costs borne by local governments and nonprofits in Hennepin and Anoka counties. FEMA will host two briefings on that public assistance on Thursday. Both are in Fridley but are intended for local government…
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The presidential declaration came 2-1/2 weeks after the tornado.
Here are some of the milestones along the way to Fridley's inclusion in the presidential disaster declaration for the May 22 tornado: May 22: May 23: May 26: May 27: May 31: June 3: June 7:
Federal aid with local-government costs covers Hennepin, Anoka counties.
President Obama declared Tuesday that the May 22 tornado that struck Fridley was a federal disaster. That allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to release federal funds to help cover cleanup and other costs. (See also Timeline: How Fridley Tornado Got Federal Disaster Status.) The president's declaration covers Hennepin and Anoka counties for public assistance—that is, for local government expenses. Cities and the counties can apply to recover 75 percent or more of their costs for: The state of Minnesota also asked for federal assistance to individuals, but only for individuals in Hennepin County. That request is still pending. Here is the text of the FEMA announcement of the presidential declaration: From FEMA on Tuesday: …
Lisa Furgison
10:10 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
Karla Rose shared this memory on the Golden Valley Patch Facebook page. Karla wrote: "I remember being at an open house and cowering in the well room trying to track the tornados on my iPad when I heard a knock at the door and a couple asked if they could come in and take a look at the house. Apparently the tornado sirens and green skies didn't catch their attention as much as my cute house." more ›