Governor Vilsack today praised the state and local officials who’re fighting the flood waters in eastern Iowa. Vilsack says the state has enough resources to handle the problem as they have in the past. Vilsack also believes there will be ample federal funds available to the flood stricken areas. He is confident that the federal government will partner with the state if there is a significant amount of damage from floods. Vilsack has already declared 10 Iowa counties along the Mississippi River state disaster areas to free up state flood aid. Those counties are: Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott Counties. The Iowa Army National Guard has called 70 soldiers to active duty to fight the flooding in eastern Iowa. Guard spokesman, Colonel Robert King, says the guardmembers are from Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque and Iowa Falls. The guardmembers are helping fill sandbags, patrolling levees and transporting sandbags and pumps to cities along the Mississippi. King says more troops may be called in if needed. They could call in additional 50 soldiers tomorrow. King says this is familiar territory for many of the soldiers who helped fight the record floods in 1993. Ironically, he says some of the soldiers may’ve even been patrolling in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait just two months ago. King says the soldiers will be on active duty as long as they’re needed.
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