Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 15

TJ y-fyy 1 1 1' ijj H'l "TJ j) yyr yDjJ- fll I Jfi II ltfHj HIT MLjJJ HI Mir Minneapolis Star and Tribune Wednesday July 61983 IB Marketplace section inside estimates soair to onoira than $20 inniillioini acg By Randy Furst, David Phelps and Henry Bellows Staff Writers Estimates of damage from Sunday's storm were nearly doubled Tuesday to more than $20 million as officials continued to assess the devastation in the northern suburbs. Thousands of homes remained without power. The Anoka Electric Coop said several hundred homes in the remotest areas might not have electricity until next week. Downed trees were forcing crews to Daim some firms. "What will happen is the Individual companies will have adverse underwriting experiences and depending on how solvent they are, they will either raise their rates or keep their rates the way they are." Homeless families were checking in with two emergency service centers set up in Ham Lake and Andover by the Red Cross.

The Red Cross advised people needing emergency assistance to call 434-5522 or 755-5100. Those working on their homes received food from mobile Red Cross vans that traveled throughout the million or million, with 50 homes destroyed and 300 to 400 damaged. In Champlln the bill could reach $4 million to 6 million. Moreover, two more suburbs were added to the list of those with significant problems. Damage in Coon Rap-Ids could total (5 million, and Anoka reported damage of between $500,000 and $1 million.

"If a big, big disaster," said Lloyd Lund, planning supervisor for the state Division of Emergency Services. He met yesterday in Andover with Anoka County commissioners. city officials, and civil defense directors to discuss the possibility that the area might qualify for loans from the Small Business Administration. And he said farm damage might be enough for the VS. Agriculture Department to declare the area a disaster, making farms eligible for loans.

Most homes and businesses in the stricken areas probably are covered by Insurance, said Reynaud Harp, deputy commissioner for Insurance in the state's department of commerce. He said that could lead to higher premiums for customers of Development 1 Dry air from the southwest at 14,000 ft. is pulled into back edge of storm. 2 of a straight-line wind 'Super warm air collided and a gigantic storm resulted Dry air takes on tremendous amounts of water from storm clouds. 3The once dry air, 1 now cold and wet, plunges downward rapidly, creating winds up to 140 mph mi i ii i 1 in northwestern sub- I I I urbs.

I I I in northwestern suburbs. crawl through some areas to repair power lines. "It's Just a pure jungle up in Andover and Ham Lake," said Klrby Posthuma of Anoka Electric Four thousand of its customers had no power; Northern States Power Co. said 6,000 of its customers were without electricity. In Ham Lake, damage was put yesterday at about $5 million by Bud Matheson, the town's building manager and Inspector.

"It's much worse and more widespread than we first he said. In Andover, the toll may climb to $6 He said the dry air coming from the south cooled rapidly as it picked up evaporation from the thunderclouds. It plunged at enormous speed, raced under the clouds and caused the damage. In that situation, the winds generally begin on the western edge of the thunderstorm and rise again on the eastern edge, taking moisture with them and, "in essence, refuel the storm," Togstead said. He said a normal thunderstorm lasts about 75 minutes.

A super cell, which in this case was also a 'steady state thunderstorm' one that doesn't go into a dissipating stage" lasts for more than two hours. Sunday's storm did just that Super cells have been associated with tornadoes. But Togstead said he hasn't seen evidence that Sunday's damage was done by anything other than straight-line winds. However, Bruce Watson, a consulting meteorologist from Rosevllle, said he suspects that at least one tornado was involved, based on damage done to the Champlln shopping center. 00mJ0 20,000.

storm area. Water was provided from U.S. Army Reserve tank trucks. "People are grateful for any help they can get," said Chris Elde of the Red Cross center in Andover. "They don't want to leave their property.

They just want to keep cleaning up." He said the centers, which also are helping victims get shelter and clothing, probably will remain open the rest of this week. (Contributions to aid the families can be sent to the Minneapolis Area Storm continued on page 4B 65,000 50.000 35.000 'Council Chairman Vic Tedesco, who broke a deadlock on the fifth ballot last week by switching to Nor-West, said early in yesterday's meeting that he was "going to go Nor-West come hell or high water, lawsuits or anything else. You can sit here until hell freezes over," he told the three council members challenging Nop West "I'm not going to change my vote. It's Nor-West NR-W-ET' Nor-West's selection over Group and Continental Cablevision, two nationally known companies that bad pledged to spend millions more In St Paul than Nor-West has split the council Fletcher and colleagues Bill Wilson and Jim Schelbel say Nor-West's bid was clearly Inferior! outside consultant ranked Nor-West lowest Kit. Yesterday, the three repeatedly asked the four who favored Nor-West to explain their votes.

When Fletcher asked Tedesco whether he had read the consultant's report before voting, Tedesco replied: "No, not throughly." Cable continued on page 4B By Gordon Slovut Staff Writer It was a collision in the sky. Thunderstorms were moving across the country Sunday morning, all the way from northern Minnesota to Texas. In MJnnesota, a single, huge thunderstorm what weather scientists call a "super cell" formed near New Ulm, and wound up stretching all the way to Rhlnelander, Wis. The super cell reached from 3,000 feet to 60,000 feet above the Earth. Moving toward It, from the southwest, was a huge mass of warm, dry air, at an altitude of 8,000 to 14,000 feet That collision the stream of warm, dry air moving into the super cell caused the winds that caused millions of dollars In damage north of the Twin Cities, said William Tog-stead, a meteorologist with the local office of the National Weather Service.

Given the severity of the damage, he said, the winds might have reached 120 to 140 m.p.h. i St. Paul council reaffirms choice of Nor-West for cable franchise iiBllllllfl liSllllll Togstead said the area's last serious super cell storm in memory came in the summer of 1980, and stretched from Bloomlngton to Detroit Dr. Joseph Golden, a thunderstorm researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, said the super cell storms "are relatively rare, but for severe thunderstorms they probably comprise a little more than Golden said the federal government plans In the late 1980s to make a thorough investigation of super cell thunderstorms. "But our knowledge right now suggests that super cells tend to be the types (of weather phenomena) that produce some of the largest hall," he said.

"Super cells generally have a cyclonic rotation, which is why they tend to be the principal storm that produces tornadoes." Are more collisions in the sky the type that produce severely damaging winds likely to occur? "There is just as much chance of one occurring next week as there was last week," Togstead said. clean-up directors Paul Perpich praises FMC Corp. for waste clean-up Gov. Rudy Pefpteh toured the FMC Corp. plant Tuesday in Fridley and said the company was "a good corporate citizen" for cleaning up one of the nation's worst toxic waste dumps.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had rated the FMC plant potentially the worst of the nation's 418 dangerous hazardous waste sites. The site was used as a dumping ground from the early 1940s until 1969, when FMC closed it. "FMC has shown ttseM to be a good corporate citizen by responding to the environmental problems at this site and working diligently with the (Minnesota) Pollution Control Agency to find solutions," Perpich said. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency approved a $6 million company plan June 8 for cleaning up the contaminated soil.

FMC agreed to excavate up to 58,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and place it in a lai box-shaped containment area lined with clay and plastic. Staff Photos by Steve Schkiter Gov. Rudy Perpich toured the FMC Corp. plant Tuesday In Fridley with Thompson, left, Bruce Montleth and William Modaffara. By Jim Dawson Staff Writer After three hours of name-calling, heated oratory and charges of conflict-of-interest, the St Paul City Council reaffirmed Its decision Tuesday to allow the locally owned Nor-West Communications Partnership to wire the dty for cable TV.

But the final vote 4-3, the same as Thursday's preliminary vote didnt surprise local cable experts. And it doesn't assure Nor-West of the city's cable franchise, St Paul Mayor George Latimer could veto the choice within five days, and the franchise can be challenged In court and before the Minnesota Cable Communications Board. Latimer said he's reluctant to veto council actions. "Unless I come up with evidence (that Nor-West cant install and run a cable TV operation), I'm not going to substitute my Judgment for the city council's." Ron Abrams, area manager for one unsuccessful applicant Group Cable, said he hopes Latimer "will look The stem-wheeler Jubilee on the Sale leaves Mayor George Latimer at this and come to the decision that the best company wasn't selected." Group hasn't ruled out litigation, he said. Council Member Bob Fletcher, who opposes Nor-West said the issue could be put before voters In a special referendum, if 5,500 signatures were gathered.

That would, In effect, suspend the council's vote. 7. fr: St. Croix River before It was taken to Columbus, to be sold. passengers up the creek Stillwater since November.

Huebner signed a contract May 5 to sell tickets for the excursion. At that point Schuck said, the Jubilee's owners, Griffith Marine Engineering, had the boat In Columbus, to be sold. Schuck said that Huebner and Jubilee continued on page 4B By Kevin Dlax Staff Writer The 200 or so people who bought tickets for a July 13 charter cruise on the popular stern-wheel riverboat Jubilee are in for a big disappointment There's no boat And the Jubilee's owners say the Minneapolis entrepreneur who promoted the three-hour evening cruise has no record of who bought the tickets. Promoter Ron Huebner sold the tickets "In good faith," said Marilyn Schuck, the Jubilee's cruise coordinator. "But he chartered a boat that Isn't there." In fact the Jubilee hasn't been docked in Its home base on the St.

Croix River at Bulldozers sealed contaminated soil into a 30-foot deep "con tainment area" lined with clay and plastic. i.