$3 million grant coming for displaced workers in flood area
(AP) - The federal government has authorized a $3 million emergency grant for a displaced worker program in parts of southeastern Minnesota affected by flooding last month, Sen. Norm Coleman announced Thursday.
The grant will fund around 300 temporary jobs for eligible dislocated workers to help in the cleanup and recovery efforts. The first $1 million will be awarded in the next few days to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, which will run the program.
"This grant from the Department of Labor will not only provide a major boost to ongoing recovery and cleanup efforts, it will also provide much-needed employment opportunities for affected workers - a true win-win for the region," Coleman said in a statement.
Eligible counties include Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha and Winona. Severe storms brought flash floods that swept through the area beginning Aug. 18.
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The grant funds can also be used for retraining services after the temporary jobs are over for participants who can't return to work.
In a separate statement, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said more than $7.7 million in other federal recovery funds have been made available so far to individuals in the seven counties covered by a presidential disaster declaration. Those counties also include Dodge County.
By the close of business Wednesday, over 3,000 people in the designated counties had registered for federal assistance programs, FEMA said.
Dodge County was added to the list of counties eligible for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program on Thursday. The other six counties qualified earlier.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)