After losing home, family hopes for historic café’s survival as Rapidan Dam collapse looms
In Rapidan, Minnesota, the Barnes family is almost synonymous with the nearby dam in imminent danger of collapse.
Their family home is only feet away from the Blue Earth River, which has overpowered the dam’s west abutment and is now causing mass flooding along the area.
Only a few minutes away, the Barneses run a nearby café called the Dam Store, renown for its homemade pies and its tasty sandwiches. The Barneses have owned the shop — which has been in business since 1910 — for nearly 50 years, according to NBC News affiliate KARE 11.
As surrounding residents wait for the dam’s possible collapse, the news hits extra close to home for the Barneses. Jenny Barnes says it’s a matter of when, not if, the family will lose its home.
“We’re surely going to lose the house no matter what,” Barnes said. “Whether it falls in the river or if we take it down, it’s damaged, and we will definitely lose our house.”
As aerial images of the dam’s damage surfaced over the weekend, some viewers noticed the Barneses’ home nearly dangling from the riverbank’s edge. The river devoured the house’s bottom layer, exposing its foundation.
The dam, which is managed by the county, is not unaccustomed to flooding. Repeated inundation over more than half a century had already caused structural damage to the barrier, according to the county’s website. A 2021 assessment had determined that the dam needed to either be extensively repaired or entirely rebuilt — but that doing nothing “would pose a public safety concern and a tremendous liability.”
High water levels at the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River in Mankato, Minn., on Monday.Ben Brewer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The county was figuring out its next steps based on feedback from the community.
Last year, Blue Earth County sought to release its licensure exemption under the federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as the damage no longer allowed the dam to produce electricity effectively.
Barnes, who now runs the Dam Store, grew up in the house now teetering on the edge of the riverbank. She said there's always a risk of flooding when living near a river, but damage this severe was unthinkable because the house was not close to the level of the river.
“We were up on the higher end of this embankment,” Barnes said. “We weren’t anywhere near ever thinking about the risk of flooding ever.”
The family watched the river swell over the weekend “play by play.” When it swallowed a nearby shed owned by Blue Earth County, Barnes said she knew her house’s fate was “inevitable.”
“It’s been a very scary and hard situation,” she said.
On social media, commenters have left hundreds of comments wishing the family well and praising the Dam Store for its food and friendly service. Despite the remote location of the unassuming café, it has been included in destination guides as one of Minnesota’s best pie shops, and online reviewers say the pie alone is “worth the trip.”
The Blue Earth Historic Society says the building where the Dam Store operates has been in existence since the dam was built in 1910 as an energy source. Up until now, it had suffered no major destruction.
Lori Ann Bode, who lives near the store, said the Dam Store is “historical.” She said it’s a destination known throughout the entire state, and senators have been known to visit just to look at the dam and bring pie back to their hometowns.
High water levels at the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River in Mankato, Minn., on Monday.Ben Brewer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bode fears the area will never be able to be completely rebuilt, noting how devastating the destruction is to the close-knit community.
“Everybody is just in shock,” Bode said. “It’s going to take a long time for us to all wrap our heads around it, because everybody knows everybody.”
“People that live in big cities might think, ‘Oh, well, you know, this is no big deal,’” Bode said. “But to us it’s like New Orleans when that flooded. It’s not on the same level, but that’s how we feel — we feel helpless.”
Still, despite Barnes’ home’s imminent fate, she is hoping that once the historically bad weather subsides and damage is assessed, her family’s store might be OK.
“We’re holding on as best as we can right now. We’re kind of playing the wait-and-see game,” Barnes said. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen or what the future’s going to hold for us, but we’re holding on strong for saving our Dam Store.”
Raquel Coronell Uribe
Raquel Coronell Uribe is a breaking news reporter.