In Bayport this year, spring flooding is a way of life; in St. Paul, it's a spectator sport

As river levels across southern Minnesota continue their slow, steady descent from major flood stage, rivers in the northwestern part of the state have their eyes on flood gauges.

So far, the effects of flooding on southern Minnesota have mostly been confined to road closures and other inconveniences, but given the unpredictable nature of a Minnesota spring, additional river crests are still possible.

The Red River of the North, which flows northward to Winnipeg, has hit what is classified as a moderate flood stage at Wahpeton, N.D., and is forecast to potentially reach a moderate flood level in Fargo by the end of this week.

MPR News reporters are monitoring rivers' rises across the state. Here's what we're seeing today.

Bayport: 'A war between me and the weather'

Jane Keyes, 87, has lived in her Bayport home since 1982.

And when the waters of the St. Croix River start rising just a few feet away from her back porch, she knows she needs to prepare.

"For me, I think it's a war between me and the weather, and I intend to win," Keyes said. "If you live on the river you've got to deal with it, and fight it, and enjoy it, I guess."

The house sits at the end of Lake Street South, at the end of a peninsula. Its story has been intertwined with the story of St. Croix Valley floods, since her father-in-law built it in 1955.

"It came up to the mantle piece in 1965," she said. There was another major flood in 1969. "And he had just had it. So he raised the house 6 feet."

In 2001, Keyes watched as the water crept past the floor of a screened-in room in the house's lower level — and kept rising.

"It came up to here," she said, pointing to the line above the third concrete block from the room's floor.

This year, Keyes took no chances, putting sandbags over every drain in the lower part of her home to prevent floodwaters from rushing into the drains and sewage from rushing out. She took all the furniture off the ground in her lower-level room and had the toilet taken out of the house's downstairs bathroom.

This year, the St. Croix's rising waters have already engulfed her yard, so there's no longer any land between her porch and the river. They've turned the tree-filled peninsula at the far end of her lot into a temporary bayou, and they're beginning to inch up the stairs toward that screened-in downstairs room to just below the floor, bringing logs, branches and all sorts of debris into her yard.

But Keyes is already feeling some relief: The St. Croix River is expected to crest at 88.5 feet sometime between Sunday and Monday. It could have been much worse, she said.

Still, she's not taking any chances.

"I'm not going to put this stuff back until probably middle or end of May," she said. "Until I see some semblance of normalcy."

— Peter Cox | Bayport

St. Paul: Spectators survey the flooding

A steady stream of spectators gathered along the Mississippi River in St. Paul on Sunday to see the flooding at Harriet Island Regional Park and along riverside roadways.

As of Sunday afternoon the river was running just inches below its forecast crest of 20 feet — that's 6 feet above flood stage.

Conor Rose spends a lot of time on the river in the summer: He's an owner of Minnesota Adventure Company kayak tours. Around midday Sunday he took a kayak out to explore the flooded area around the playground, pavilion and concert stage at Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul.

"There's definitely a good current right now" in areas of the park that normally are dry land, Rose said after returning to shore.

"You know, it really puts you in your place. You know that the river is ... it's mighty, it's the mighty Mississippi," he said. "And when it's up like this it shows that it is definitely in control, and it's fun to be a part of that."

On the other side of the river, pedestrians gathered along the Wabasha and Robert Street bridges, and at downtown overlooks, to watch the flooding at Raspberry Island. The island's band shell was surrounded by high water, and the river was lapping at the Minnesota Boat Club building.

The river also has flooded a long stretch of Shepard and Warner roads below downtown St. Paul, and part of Upper Landing Park.

— Andrew Krueger | St. Paul