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High waters inflicting costly toll in Kandiyohi County

Flooded crops and roads and other damage from record water levels on Big Kandiyohi Lake are proving frustrating and costly to many.

Big Kandiyohi Lake
Property owners along Big Kandiyohi Lake are dealing with high waters and the damage they have inflicted. Scenes such as this are not uncommon, especially along the south shore of the lake. This photo was taken on June 30, 2025, as waters reached their record level.
Contributed / David Peterson

WILLMAR — Southern Kandiyohi County is coping with record water levels, and the consequences are as frustrating as they are costly.

Farmers south and east of Willmar have yet to tally up the acres of croplands that have been submerged and ruined since the rains began in mid-June. Lakeshore residents on Big Kandiyohi Lake are waiting for waters to recede before they can begin to assess the damage to their shorelines and yards, docks and boat lifts.

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“People are frustrated. I get that,” said Duane Anderson, a Kandiyohi County Commissioner whose District 5 south of Willmar is the hardest hit. “Not much we can do.”

A pickup and trailer make their way over a flooded driveway on the Boll Family Farms south of Big Kandiyohi Lake on 165th Avenue Southeast on July 8, 2025.
A pickup and trailer make their way over a flooded driveway on the Boll Family Farms south of Big Kandiyohi Lake on 165th Avenue Southeast on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

The Willmar Area Community Foundation and on Tuesday conducted an in-person help center at the Willmar Conference Center where people affected by the high waters could connect with possible help, ranging from the Red Cross to Catholic Charities.

The county is now shifting to long-term recovery efforts for those impacted by the high waters, according to Ace Bonnema, emergency management director.

As the waters rose, county staff began providing sand and sandbags for affected areas while the public works crew tended to the water-damaged roadways. The damage to public infrastructure is estimated at $1.4 million.

Last week, the County Board of Commissioners approved a letter to the governor’s office seeking disaster assistance, according to Steve Gardner, chair of the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners. It’s hoped that state disaster funds could cover roughly two-thirds of the costs for repairing public infrastructure.

If approved, the state funds will be available only for damage to public infrastructure. The county does not believe the total damages to private property will reach the threshold required for funding help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individuals, Bonnema explained.

Prairie Pothole crop damage Big Kandiyohi Lake area
The extent of damage to crops from the high waters in the southern half of Kandiyohi County is yet to be determined, but many fields in the area around Big Kandiyohi Lake and Lake Lillian have areas similar to this shown Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

Gardner noted that the full cost of this record-breaking wet spell on farm lands is far from known: “We don’t know the full extent of damages to the crops,” he said.

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Commissioner Anderson said he has roughly 100 acres of crops under water on his farm. He has not seen water this high in 30 years.

The flooded fields led some to speculate that the Crow River and drainage systems were plugged by beaver dams or obstacles. Kandiyohi County Public Drainage Manager Austin Hilbrands flew a drone all the way to Corvuso, but found no beaver dams or obstacles other than downed trees in places.

There has been anywhere from 11 to more than 13 inches of rain recorded south of Willmar since June 12, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network overseen by the National Weather Service.

Anderson has recorded more than 13 inches of rain in that time. He spoke to one landowner who told him she had poured 20 inches of rain from her backyard gauge during the same period.

“She quit checking,” he said.

Big Kandiyohi Lake Dock
Record high waters on Big Kandiyohi Lake have damaged docks and lifts and in locations and reached to the decks of homes. This photo shows the waters on June 30, 2025, at their peak level to date.
Contributed / David Peterson

As waters slowly recede, property owners on Big Kandiyohi Lake are checking daily to see the damage, but it is too early to know the full extent of it.

“We won’t know how much water damage there is, shoreline damage, until the water goes down,” said David Peterson, head of the Big Kandiyohi Lake Association.

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The popular recreational lake recorded its highest water at 1,104.88 above sea level on June 30, the highest the county has ever recorded, according to Hilbrands.

The Crow River flowage south of Willmar has also set records on Lake Wakanda and Lake Lillian. Lake Wakanda reached a record 1,108.25 level on June 30, and Lake Lillian topped out at 1,103.4 feet on that same date.

There are about 270 properties on Big Kandiyohi Lake. Peterson said members of the lake association’s board of directors believe it is a fair estimation to say that every single one of them has suffered some high-water damage.

Lisa Bjergo, whose cabin is near Big Kandiyohi Lake County Park East, said she has been daily raking sand that waves keep piling on her lawn. She said she considers herself fortunate compared to those with cabins and homes along the lake’s south shore, where water levels have reached their decks.

“My heart breaks for them,” she said.

Water levels have begun to recede slowly in the Big Kandiyohi Lake area, but drainage systems remain full to the brim as seen here on July 8, 2025.
Water levels have begun to recede slowly in the Big Kandiyohi Lake area, but drainage systems remain full to the brim as seen here Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune
The high waters of the South Fork of the Crow River churn after pouring over the dam at 71st Avenue SE in Kandiyohi County near Big Kandiyohi Lake on June 8, 2025.
The high waters of the South Fork of the Crow River churn after pouring over the dam at 71st Avenue Southeast in Kandiyohi County near Big Kandiyohi Lake on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

The biggest worry is the winds and waves that have come with the high waters, Peterson said. There was no July 4 Parade of Boats on the lake this year due to the high water. Not only were there concerns about the wake from boats, but many have also moved their boats to higher ground due to flooded docks and lifts.

One of Peterson’s neighbors moved her dock after wave action damaged it. She moved it to her winter storage spot on her yard, and yet it stood in enough water for visiting children to use it for jumping into the lake’s cool waters over the holiday weekend.

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While water levels have gone down by a few inches this week, caution remains the byword.

“There’s a lot of water that has to come through yet,” Peterson said in reference to the upstream flow.

The fear is that waves driven by high winds in coming days could add to the damage, and there is a forecast of potential rain and storms Thursday into Friday.

Gary Duininck takes advantage of calm weather and blue skies to head out on Big Kandiyohi Lake to do some fishing on July 8, 2025. He said the water level of the lake is higher by at least two feet from early June.
Gary Duininck takes advantage of calm weather and blue skies to head out on Big Kandiyohi Lake to do some fishing Tuesday, July 8, 2025. He said the water level of the lake is higher by at least 2 feet from early June.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune
Katelyn Mason, an intern with the Kandiyohi Soil and Water Conservation District, plants native vegetation as part of a shoreline restoration project in the Big Kandiyohi Lake County Park West on July 8, 2025.
Katelyn Mason, an intern with the Kandiyohi Soil and Water Conservation District, plants native vegetation as part of a shoreline restoration project in the Big Kandiyohi Lake County Park West on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

Tom Cherveny is a regional and outdoors reporter for the West Central Tribune.
He has been a reporter with the West Central Tribune since 1993.

Cherveny can be reached via email at tcherveny@wctrib.com or by phone at
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