Historic Rapidan Dam House collapses into Blue Earth River
Jim Hruska's family business and home for generations destroyed by flooding
Jim's daughter, Jenny Barnes, describes emotions watching family history being erased
Rapid flooding overwhelmed Rapidan Dam on Monday, creating new channel and eroding land around Jim's house
Family Grieves Loss of Historic Rapidan Dam House
The Rapidan Dam Store, a family business in Minnesota that has been in operation for over 50 years, is no more. The house next to the store, which was also home to Jim Hruska and his family for generations, collapsed into the Blue Earth River on Tuesday night.
Historic flooding overwhelmed the Rapidan Dam on Monday, creating a new channel on the west bank of the river that eroded the land around Jim's house. By Tuesday evening, raging waters had taken away what was left of his home.
Jenny Barnes, Jim's daughter, described her emotions as she watched her family history being erased.
The Rapidan Dam near Mankato, Minnesota faced an 'imminent threat' of collapse but later partial failure occurred on Monday.
Water levels peaked at 34,800 cubic feet per second, making it the second largest flood in the dam’s history and equivalent to once-a-century flooding.
The west abutment of the dam partially failed due to heavy rain.
Even if electricity generation was restored, the county would likely lose money annually for each of the following 40 years.
Accuracy
The Rapidan Dam faced an 'imminent threat' of collapse but later a partial failure occurred on Monday.
A house collapsed in Minnesota on June 26, 2024.
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting and emotional manipulation. The author only reports details that support the imminent threat of the dam's collapse, while omitting information about past assessments and repairs. The author also uses emotive language to describe the damage caused by the flooding, such as 'stunning', 'toppled utility poles', and 'wrecked a substation'. These words are intended to elicit an emotional response from readers.
The visuals were stunning: Water from the Blue Earth River surged around a southern Minnesota dam, carrying a shipping container with it as it toppled utility poles, wrecked a substation and washed away part of a riverbank. A home on the edge of the eroded slope collapsed into the river.
Water continued flowing around and eroding the west side of the dam Tuesday, officials said. But as overall water levels decreased, they said the prospect of a total collapse was unlikely.
Conditions around the dam spun a current that was too vicious for workers to cross safely to clear the detritus.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several instances of inflammatory rhetoric and appeals to authority. The author uses phrases like 'imminent threat', 'vicious current', and 'severe environmental damage' to create a sense of urgency and fear. Additionally, the author quotes Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stating that the dam's structural integrity has been in question for a long time, implying that the partial failure was inevitable due to past assessments. However, no explicit fallacies were identified.
][The visuals were stunning: Water from the Blue Earth River surged around a southern Minnesota dam, carrying a shipping container with it as it toppled utility poles, wrecked a substation and washed away part of a riverbank. A home on the edge of the eroded slope collapsed into the river.][] The author uses inflammatory rhetoric to describe the damage caused by the flooding at Rapidan Dam.
