Ice dams cause flooding problems in Morrison County
by Lee Voss, WJON.com

MORRISON COUNTY -- Authorities in Morrison County are watching the river levels closely after some ice dams caused an emergency evacuation Tuesday.

Sheriff Michel Wetzel says they've been receiving reports of quickly rising water on the Crow Wing River between Motley and Pillager.

Firefighters from Pillager had to use a boat Tuesday to help a stranded resident from her Motley home. Crews then alerted other residents along the river about the rising waters and shut off numerous propane tanks at those affected homes.

Wetzel says they've received some reports today (Wednesday) about the Mississippi River rising due to ice dams. The backed up water caused septic systems to back up into basements in Belle Prairie. Little Falls Public Works also shut down a portion of Mississippi Boulevard and sandbagged around a pumping station for the city's sewer system.

In Sartell, Police Chief Jim Hughes says they've had no problems with the Mississippi River or other smaller streams.  He says the concrete ice breakers above the paper mill work very well in breaking up those large ice flows and they are not anticipating any problems in Sartell.