歪歪漫画

ST. PAUL 鈥� With the entirety of the state of Minnesota seeing some level of drought, more and more local municipalities are putting in place restrictions on fires and water use, and government agencies are rushing to save parched public lands and crippled farms.

It鈥檚 been an abnormally hot and dry summer, with setting the tone across the state for the remainder of the summer. As of Thursday, July 20, reports that there is no part of Minnesota that is adequately quenched right now. More than half of the state is seeing severe drought conditions, and 18.5% extreme drought.

Up north, and "very windy and very dry鈥� conditions have prompted Forest Service officials to , while iconic waterfalls, rivers and streams have . A typically bountiful berry supply up north has also dwindled, on backyard feeders and garbage, or even tearing into property or harassing livestock.

On Monday, July 26, brought some precipitation 鈥� but also golf ball-sized hail, whipping winds, a reported tornado and serious damage to trees and properties. The state Department of Natural Resources , 鈥淯nfortunately, these storms were quite isolated in nature, so only a small proportion of the state received any rain at all.鈥�

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, July 28, announced crop insurance payment extensions for farmers across the country experiencing drought, giving farmers 60 more days to pay premiums and fees without accruing interest.

Richard Flournoy, acting administrator for the department鈥檚 Risk Management Agency, said in Tuesday鈥檚 statement that the USDA 鈥渋s using all of the tools in the toolbox to help producers amid the drought, including these crop insurance flexibilities.鈥�

USDA this week announced a disaster in the state of Minnesota due to the drought, opening up federal financial assistance for impacted farmers and ranchers. Minnesota's congressional delegation has also on Conservation Reserve Program enrolled lands in the state to help farmers through the disaster.

Across the northern plains, , anxious about the quality of their crop yields, and the eventual beer it will become. In northwestern Minnesota, farmers are , coming up short nearly a foot of rainfall from typical yearly averages.

Though it may have less green space than more rural areas of the state, the Twin Cities metro hasn鈥檛 been isolated from the drought鈥檚 impacts. On July 21, dense smoke from wildfires north of the Canadian border drifted across most of the state, including the metro, . Hennepin and Ramsey Counties themselves are for the most part experiencing moderate drought, but like municipalities across the state seeing drier conditions,