Pawlenty requests Obama declare tornado disaster
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is asking President Barack Obama to declare the state's June 17 tornadoes a major disaster.
In an 11-page letter, Pawlenty asks for seven Minnesota counties to be declared a disaster, making them eligible for federal aid.
That would include individual financial assistance, crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance, Small Business Administration loans and public assistance for the counties.
Those counties are Faribault, Freeborn, Olmsted and Steele in southern Minnesota and Otter Tail, Polk, and Wadena in the northwest.
The letter says 842 homes were damaged, including 113 that were completely destroyed. Inspectors also found thousands of acres of crop damage, dead livestock, and widespread damage to public facilities and infrastructure.
The letter says the damage will be in the tens of millions of dollars. Pawlenty's request for aid will be formally submitted to the regional Federal Emergency Management Agency office in Chicago.
Three people were killed in last week's storms and dozens injured.
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