The St. Louis County Board will meet in an emergency session and is expected to declare a state of local disaster following this week’s heavy rain and flooding event. The Special Emergency Meeting  will take place Thursday, June 20, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Lake Vermilion Room, Virginia Public Works Building, 7823 Highway 135 in Virginia.

Heavy rainfall on already saturated ground has led to road and culvert washouts throughout the county. The northern third of the county appears to have sustained the most rain and resulting damage. Currently 43 county roads are closed, 32 of which are in the northern portion of St. Louis County.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Emergency Management Division is in communication with local jurisdictions to begin the process of gathering damage assessment estimates.

St. Louis County Public Works has received a $15,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Noxious Weed Program. The funds will be used to combat two invasive plant species that have taken root in St. Louis County: invasive knotweed and wild parsnip. The county is prioritizing these two invasive species because of the risks they pose to people and infrastructure.

St. Louis County Public Works will host an informational open house to discuss an intersection safety improvement project in Mountain Iron. The intersection of Nichols Avenue and Mud Lake Road with U.S. Highway 169 will be reconfigured into a J-turn as part of a project planned for 2025.

The open house will be Thursday, June 20, at 6 p.m., at the Mt. Iron Community Center, 8586 Enterprise Drive South.