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Firefighters rescued a man caught in the flood waters of a creek near downtown Rochester on Saturday morning.

The rescue came after a night of flash flooding across parts of southern Minnesota — the latest in repeated rounds of heavy rain in that part of the state. There were reports of road closures in parts of Steele, Waseca, Goodhue, Dodge and Olmsted counties overnight, but no major highway closures were reported as of mid-morning Saturday.

The Rochester water rescue occurred after a 911 caller reported a man sleeping on a picnic table near the rising waters of Cascade Creek in Kutzky Park just before 7 a.m.

Rochester police responded first, and then called in Rochester firefighters.

"We were able to determine that the water levels were rising fairly rapidly and the current was picking up from the creek," said Rochester Fire Department Capt. Brett Knapp. "We were ... in the park with the boat standing by downstream and then we had four of our firefighters in water rescue suits who were tethered to shore, who were able to wade out on foot to reach the victim on the table. By that time the water had reached about to the top deck of the table. They were able to put a personal flotation device on him, and a helmet, and walk him back to shore."

The man was evaluated at the scene by an ambulance crew; he was not seriously injured. Authorities placed barricades to keep people away from the high water.

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"Even though the sun is out shining now and it seems like the rain has stopped for the next couple days, the water levels continue to rise as the (storm runoff) makes its way ... into the creeks and rivers," Knapp said.

The National Weather Service received reports of more than a half-foot of rain in parts of Dodge and Olmsted counties on Friday night. A weather spotter in Waseca County, 4 miles south of Waterville, reported 4 inches of rain in an hour.

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The heavy rain caused creeks and rivers to overflow their banks and covered some roadways.

The Weather Service relayed reports of road closures overnight in the Byron, Mantorville, Waterville, Waseca, Owatonna and Vasa areas in southern Minnesota.

Friday night's storms also brought reports of several possible brief tornado touchdowns — near Arlington and Henderson in Sibley County, and near Elysian in Le Sueur County. The Weather Service received reports of some roof and tree damage in those areas.

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Andrew Krueger

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The rescue came after a night of flash flooding across parts of southern Minnesota — the latest in repeated rounds of heavy rain in that part of the state.

Rochester firefighters rescue man caught in flood waters

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