Gov. Mark Dayton is in northwest Minnesota today, first stopping in Karlstad, near the Canadian and North Dakota borders, where wildfires caused considerable damage this week.
The Grand Forks Herald reports that 11 homes, including seven mobile homes, two garages and 22 other outbuildings in the area, were destroyed by the fire.
The governor is discussing recovery efforts with local officials.
Then Dayton heads about 30 miles south to Thief River Falls, for a ceremony to begin construction on a $1.2 million project at Hwy. 32 and Greenwood Street, where the intersection is being upgraded to include a stop light.
Apparently the governor is fulfilling a campaign promise to get the light installed there for safety reasons, because thousands of workers at DigiKey and Arctic Cat drive through there every day.
Because of the snow and bad weather there, the stoplight groundbreaking ceremony, originally scheduled for the intersection, has been moved to a nearby arena. But they’ll take photos at the site afterward.
