Mayo Clinic pledges $300,000 for flood recovery

The Mayo Clinic today pledged $300,000 to help with cleanup and recovery efforts in flood-damaged areas of southeastern Minnesota.

The donation was distributed equally to the Southeast Minnesota Chapter of the Red Cross, the Salvation Army of Rochester, and the United Way of Olmsted County for flood relief efforts.

"This natural disaster has substantially affected the communities in which we live and work," Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy said in a statement. "Many people, including our colleagues, our patients and our neighbors suffered losses and property damage. It's important that we do everything we can to help these individuals and communities recover as quickly as possible."

Mayo officials have also put out a call to employees to volunteer with clean up and recovery efforts.

Preliminary damage assessment reports indicate that 5,326 homes were affected by flooding in 17 counties.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has tentatively scheduled a special legislative session for Oct. 11 to ensure that state funding is available to help southern Minnesota residents clean up from last month's flooding.

The governor's office says a preliminary damage estimate from the September 22 flooding is $64.1 million. If a disaster declaration is made, the federal government will pick up 75 percent of the cost. Pawlenty and legislative leaders have pledged that the state will pick up the rest of the tab.

• Editor’s notebook: Covering the environment in 2014
• Best of Minnesota Scenes from 2014
• 50 years of memory making in the Boundary Waters
• ‘Fargo’ takes home two Emmys