Published 5:44 am Monday, July 1, 2024 By Minnesota Public Radio People are mourning the loss of the Dam Store in Rapidan, Minnesota. The beloved store was demolished Friday before it could be claimed by the rushing Blue Earth River. On Saturday, local residents Eric and Louise Henderson visited the rubble of the former store.
“I watched one of my best friends lose everything,” Louise said. Her great-grandfather, Jorgen Nelson, started the Dam Store in 1910 by selling sandwiches to the workers building the dam. Jim Hruska bought the store in 1972, and he and his family have run it ever since.
“It’s not about us, it’s about this family that built a business for 50 years,” Louise added. The Blue Earth River consumed the Hruska home in Rapidan, Minn. on Tuesday when rain-swollen waters eroded the earth underneath.
It had built force with heavy rains last week, skirted the dam when debris build-up prevented its flow, and quickly worn away at the riverbank. Anticipating the building’s collapse into the river, Blue Earth County took possession of and demolished The Dam Store. In a Facebook post, county officials said significant erosion had accelerated along the riverbank, so they presented a purchase agreement to the Hruska family in “an effort to protect other properties downstream and lessen environmental impact.
” David Hruska, 44, first spoke with MPR News on Thursday. At the time, he was hopeful the store’s building could be moved. A contractor later determ.
