MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rushing waters from the Blue Earth River have already left a trail of debris and destruction on the edges of a southern Minnesota dam that partially failed last week, but officials acknowledged Tuesday the structure most in danger may be the bridge that looms nearby.
The County Road 9 Bridge is at risk of crumbling, and officials said they have little recourse. The threat to the bridge accelerated after a bout of heavy rain and flooding pummeled the Midwest for days. The Blue Earth River's water levels rose dramatically and tested the structural integrity of the dam. The dam has held up, but the specter of collapse hasn’t waned.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rushing waters from the Blue Earth River have already left a trail of debris and destruction on the edges of a southern Minnesota dam that partially failed last week, but officials acknowledged Tuesday the structure most in danger may be the bridge that looms nearby.
The County Road 9 Bridge stands, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addresses media members Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the Rapidan Dam, in Rapidan, Minn. Rushing waters from the Blue Earth River have already left a trail of debris and destruction on the edges of a southern Minnesota dam that partially failed last week. (Casey Ek/The Free Press via AP)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, left, speaks to Blue Earth County Public Works Director Ryan Thilges, far right, about the status of the Rapidan Dam and a nearby bridge, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Emergency management officials have expressed concern for the structural stability of the Blue Earth County Road 9 bridge that runs over the Blue Earth River, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn. Fallen water levels have left the base of the bridge partially exposed, risking further instability. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and local officials shared concerns about the bridge's future during a visit Tuesday. (Casey Ek/The Free Press via AP)
Now, the roughly 40-year-old bridge locals use to commute across the dam from rural patches of land to nearby towns, may topple over if the weather doesn't cooperate.
“Unfortunately, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature at this point," said Ryan Thilges, the public works director for Blue Earth County. “We’re very concerned about the potential for partial or full failure of the bridge.”
Thilges stood atop a hillside on the eastern side of the Rapidan Dam near the Minnesota city of Mankato. He was flanked by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other officials who went to the dam to get an update on flood conditions and recovery efforts.
Officials are warily watching both the dam and the bridge, noting that the still-surging river has drastically changed the area.
“I think the concern is that is the bridge going to be structurally damaged by this and will it need to be replaced?” Walz said.
The floodwaters forged a new river channel around the dam cut deeply into a steep riverbank, toppling utility poles, wrecking a substation, swallowing a home and forcing the removal of a beloved store. The conditions have made it too dangerous for officials to get close enough for a thorough inspection of the bridge, but they have already identified troubling signs of damage.
The river is washing away large amounts of sediment, causing instability to the bridge's supporting piers, built atop sandstone bedrock. Officials have been able to stabilize at least one pier but said they haven't been able to get to the others.
Complicating matters was “a massive spike of trees that came down the river” on Sunday, Thilges said. The dead trees, a product of drought over the last several years, collided with the bridge, and some are hanging on the piers. The county has not been able to find contractors who felt safe enough to clear the debris.
"Nobody was willing to send out their operator and risk their operator's life to try to push those trees through," Thilges said.
Flooding has caused millions of dollars in damage to bridges, homes and roads across Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The dam captured attention after officials initially said it faced an “imminent threat” of collapse.
The Rapidan Dam is over a century old, finished in 1910. While it was built to generate electricity, it has been damaged by several rounds of flooding in recent decades. An April 2023 assessment conducted by the National Inventory of Dams found Rapidan to be in poor condition, and officials have been studying the possibility of removing it.
A federal disaster declaration has been approved for Blue Earth County, and local officials said the additional resources will be critical for rebuilding efforts. But those projects could be complicated by a sensitive landscape where relief efforts can sometimes exacerbate decline, Thilges said.
“I’ll be perfectly honest, all the solutions we came up with had almost as bad or worse adverse impacts that could affect the dam stability further, or it could result in damage to the bridge or additional erosion,” he added. "We need Mother Nature to give us a break."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz shakes hands with Jim Hruska, whose house fell into the Blue Earth River and whose family owned the recently demolished Dam Store for over 50 years, on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn., during a visit to the Rapidan Dam site where river waters that diverted the dam have torn through the landscape. (Casey Ek/The Free Press via AP)
The County Road 9 Bridge stands, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addresses media members Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the Rapidan Dam, in Rapidan, Minn. Rushing waters from the Blue Earth River have already left a trail of debris and destruction on the edges of a southern Minnesota dam that partially failed last week. (Casey Ek/The Free Press via AP)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, left, speaks to Blue Earth County Public Works Director Ryan Thilges, far right, about the status of the Rapidan Dam and a nearby bridge, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)
Floodwater continues to carve a channel around the Rapidan Dam, Thursday, June 27, 2024, near Mankato, Minn. Water breached the earthen abutment early Monday morning and rapidly eroded the west bank of the Blue Earth River. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Emergency management officials have expressed concern for the structural stability of the Blue Earth County Road 9 bridge that runs over the Blue Earth River, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Rapidan, Minn. Fallen water levels have left the base of the bridge partially exposed, risking further instability. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and local officials shared concerns about the bridge's future during a visit Tuesday. (Casey Ek/The Free Press via AP)
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Labour Party swept to power Friday after more than a decade in opposition, as a jaded electorate handed the party a landslide victory — but also a mammoth task of reinvigorating a stagnant economy and dispirited nation.
Labour leader Keir Starmer will officially become prime minister later in the day, leading his party back to government less than five years after it suffered its worst defeat in almost a century. In the merciless choreography of British politics, he will take charge in 10 Downing St. hours after the votes are counted — as Conservative leader Rishi Sunak is hustled out.
“A mandate like this comes with a great responsibility,” Starmer acknowledged in a speech to supporters, saying that the fight to regain people’s trust after years of disillusionment “is the battle that defines our age."
Speaking as drawn broke in London, he said Labour would offer “the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day.”
Sunak conceded defeat, saying the voters had delivered a “sobering verdict.”
For Starmer, it's a massive triumph that will bring huge challenges, as he faces a weary electorate impatient for change against a gloomy backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric.
“Nothing has gone well in the last 14 years,” said London voter James Erskine, who was optimistic for change in the hours before polls closed. “I just see this as the potential for a seismic shift, and that’s what I’m hoping for.”
And that's what Starmer promised, saying “change begins now."
Anand Menon, professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London, said British voters were about to see a marked change in political atmosphere from the tumultuous “politics as pantomime” of the last few years.
“I think we’re going to have to get used again to relatively stable government, with ministers staying in power for quite a long time, and with government being able to think beyond the very short term to medium-term objectives,” he said.
Britain has experienced a run of turbulent years — some of it of the Conservatives’ own making and some of it not — that has left many voters pessimistic about their country’s future. The U.K.’s exit from the European Union followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine battered the economy, while lockdown-breaching parties held by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff caused widespread anger.
Johnson’s successor, Liz Truss, rocked the economy further with a package of drastic tax cuts and lasted just 49 days in office. Rising poverty, crumbling infrastructure and overstretched National Health Service have led to gripes about “Broken Britain.”
While the result appears to buck recent rightward electoral shifts in Europe, including in France and Italy, many of those same populist undercurrents flow in Britain. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has roiled the race with his party’s anti-immigrant “take our country back” sentiment and undercut support for the Conservatives and even grabbed some voters from Labour.
The exit poll suggested Labour was on course to win about 410 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons and the Conservatives 131. With a majority of results in, the broad picture of a Labour landslide was borne out, though estimates of the final tally varied.
The result is a catastrophe for the Conservatives as voters punished them for 14 years of presiding over austerity, Brexit, a pandemic, political scandals and internecine conflict.
The historic defeat — on track to be the fewest number of seats in the party's two-century history — leaves it depleted and in disarray and will likely spark an immediate contest to replace Sunak as leader.
In a sign of the volatile public mood and anger at the system, the incoming Parliament will be more fractured and ideologically diverse than any for years. Smaller parties picked up millions of votes, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and Farage’s Reform UK. It won at least four seats, including one for Farage in the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea, securing a place in Parliament on his eighth attempt.
The Liberal Democrats won more than 60 seats, on a slightly lower share of the vote than Reform because its votes were more efficiently distributed. In Britain's first-past-the-post system, the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins.
The Green Party have won four seats, up from just one before the election.
One of the biggest losers was the Scottish National Party, which held most of Scotland's 57 seats before the election but looked set to lose all but handful, mostly to Labour.
Labour did not set pulses racing with its pledges to get the sluggish economy growing, invest in infrastructure and make Britain a “clean energy superpower.”
But the party's cautious, safety-first campaign delivered the desired result. The party won the support of large chunks of the business community and endorsements from traditionally conservative newspapers, including the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun tabloid, which praised Starmer for “dragging his party back to the center ground of British politics.”
The Conservative campaign, meanwhile, was plagued by gaffes. The campaign got off to an inauspicious start when rain drenched Sunak as he made the announcement outside 10 Downing St. Then, Sunak went home early from commemorations in France marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Several Conservatives close to Sunak are being investigated over suspicions they used inside information to place bets on the date of the election before it was announced.
In Henley-on-Thames, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of London, voters like Patricia Mulcahy, who is retired, sensed the nation was looking for something different. The community, which has long voted Conservative, flipped to the Liberal Democrats this time.
“The younger generation are far more interested in change,’’ Mulcahy said ahead of the results. “But whoever gets in, they’ve got a heck of a job ahead of them. It’s not going to be easy.”
Follow AP's coverage of elections around the world: https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/
Bill Blockhead, left, an independent candidate, views results on a phone at the Sports Training Village, University of Bath, in Somerset, during the count for the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency in the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. (Jonathan BradyPA via AP)
Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney looks down at his phone at Ice Hall in the Dewars Centre, Perth, during the count in the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks on stage after he was elected for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Independent candidate Count Binface speaks to a journalist as he arrives for the vote count in Britain's general election at the Richmond and Northallerton count center in Northallerton, England, Friday July 5, 2024. (Temilade Adelaja, Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty leave a polling station after voting near Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell )
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg looks at his phone at the Sports Training Village, University of Bath, in Somerset, during the count for the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency in the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll and partial returns indicated, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria make their way through supporters as they arrive at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras Parliamentary constituency where the Starmer is standing for election, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, second right, arrives at Clacton Leisure Centre in Clacton, England, during the count for the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gives a victory speech after winning his seat at Clacton Leisure Centre in Clacton, England, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA via AP)
Liberal Democrat Ed Davey celebrates at a general election results watch party at the London Art Bar, central London, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll and partial returns indicated, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Independent candidate Niko Omilana holds an "L" behind Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who speaks after winning his seat in the general election at the Richmond and Northallerton count center in Northallerton, England, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll and partial returns indicated, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Temilade Adelaja, Pool via AP)
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer smiles as he speaks to his supporters at the Tate Modern in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Labour Party Starmer says voters "have spoken and they are ready for change" as an exit poll points to landslide win, and is expected to be the next British Prime Minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Ballot boxes are emptied at Ice Hall in the Dewars Centre, Perth, Scotland, during the count for the Perth and North Perthshire constituency in the 2024 General Election, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party was headed for a huge majority in Britain’s election on Thursday, an exit poll suggested. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
Meadowbank Sports Arena, Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, during the count for the 2024 General Election, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party was headed for a huge majority in Britain’s election on Thursday, an exit poll suggested. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)
Ballot boxes are emptied at Silkworth Community Pool Tennis & Wellness Centre in Sunderland, England, during the count for the 2024 General Election, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party was headed for a huge majority in Britain’s election on Thursday, an exit poll suggested. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A man leaves a temporary polling station at Wimbledon Village, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Britain's LibDem party leader Ed Davey and his wife Emily Daveypose for the media after they cast their vote at polling station in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A woman holds a tray after offering hot drinks to members of the media waiting for Labour Party leader Keir Starmer to vote outside a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
People walk from Falwell windmill and mill which is a temporary polling station, after casting their vote in Sunderland, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024.Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer walks out of a polling booth after casting her vote in the 2024 General Election at Redland Park United Reformed Church in Bristol, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
A woman displays a Reform UK Party badge on her hat in Clacton On Sea, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer shakes hands with other candidates after he was elected for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party speaks from inside a jeep during an electoral rally at Clacton Pier in Clacton-on-Sea, England, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. United Kingdom voters will cast ballots in a national election Thursday, passing judgment on Sunak's 20 months in office, and on the four Conservative prime ministers before him. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
People react to Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, speaking during an electoral rally at Clacton Pier in Clacton-on-Sea, England, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. United Kingdom voters will cast ballots in a national election Thursday, passing judgment on Sunak's 20 months in office, and on the four Conservative prime ministers before him. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A man cycles with his daughter after casting his vote at Whitley Bay cemetery where there is polling station inside, in Whitley Bay, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A man and his dog walk towards Falwell windmill and mill which is a temporary polling station in Sunderland, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024.Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives at Northallerton Leisure Centre in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, for the count for the Richmond and Northallerton constituency in the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty walk from a polling station after voting near Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell )
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer kisses his wife Victoria after he spoke to his supporters at the Tate Modern in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Labour Party Starmer says voters "have spoken and they are ready for change" as an exit poll points to landslide win, and is expected to be the next British Prime Minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer gives a thumbs up to his supporters after he was elected for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
