Blue Earth County buys, demolishes Rapidan Dam Store as a safety response to area flooding

The Rapidan Dam Store, a popular café southwest of Mankato that sat next to the Rapidan Dam for decades, was removed Friday by Blue Earth County officials as a safety measure following flooding on the Blue Earth River.

The store is yet another casualty of the flooding outside Mankato, which had already swept away the home of the Hruska family that owned the store, along with a playground, trees and other debris.

“The Dam Store was an integral part of the community and remains embedded in the memories of many residents,” Jessica Anderson, a Blue Earth County spokeswoman, said in a news release Friday. “Our thoughts are with the Hruska family and everyone close to them.”

The family seemed hopeful that the store will return in some form. In a Facebook post Wednesday, they released a statement that said in part, “The Dam Store has not sold its last burger or sold its last slice of pie. When it is safe for all, we will be open in some way or shape.”

Anderson said significant erosion had put the store at risk of being lost to the river after the family’s home tumbled into the water earlier this week. The county bought the building from the family and removed it from the riverbank Friday in an effort to protect other property downstream and mitigate environmental impacts, she said.

A GoFundMe page to benefit the Hruska family had raised nearly $13,000 of a $200,000 goal as of Friday evening. The store had been owned by the family since 1972, according to the organizer of the page, Shannon Whittet.

“The collapse of the [river] bank has destroyed their residence, park, and swept away lifetime of memories down the river,” Whittet wrote.