The Latest on flooding in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin (all times local):
1:05 p.m.
The southern Minnesota city of Faribault (FAIR'-boh) has declared a state of emergency as it works to hold back the Cannon and Straight Rivers.
The Faribault Daily News reports ( http://bit.ly/2dcKsol ) that a large sandbagging operation was launched Thursday morning to protect the Faribault Woolen Mill, a popular tourism destination, while crews were building a berm at the Caves of Faribault, which are known for their award-winning, cave-aged blue cheeses.
About 5 inches of rain fell overnight in Faribault. Numerous roads remain closed in the area.
Nearby Northfield is also bracing for flooding. Last month, the Cannon River flooded parts of the Carleton College campus. Northfield Police Chief Monte Nelson says he's been telling businesses to prepare for flood levels they last saw in 2010.
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12:30 p.m.
Firefighters, city workers and residents have been filling sandbags in the southern Minnesota town of St. Clair, where the rising Le Sueur River threatens wastewater treatment facilities and several homes.
Nearly 7 inches of rain fell on the area Wednesday, and The Free Press of Mankato reports ( http://bit.ly/2dktUuY ) the problems there are likely to grow as the river rises in the coming days. The Le Sueur River starts to the east, near the Waseca area, which had 14 inches of rain in 48 hours, and that water will flow toward St. Clair.
Public Works Supervisor Thad Baker says the biggest concern is water coming over a permanent earthen dike and getting into the treatment plant's lift station. If the lift station gets flooded, he says, sewage will back up into homes.
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12:10 p.m.
A train has derailed in southwestern Wisconsin after rain washed out tracks along the Mississippi River.
State emergency and BNSF Railway officials say the seven-car train derailed early Thursday morning about 25 miles north of Prairie du Chien in Crawford County. They say a fuel tank on one of the train's locomotives ruptured, spilling about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, some of which reached the river.
BNSF officials say they hope to get on the river when high water levels stemming from the recent rains subside and install a boom to capture the fuel. None of the crew is injured.
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11:55 a.m.
Authorities say about 100 people are being evacuated from two apartment complexes in Mason City in northern Iowa.
Cerro Gordo County emergency management spokesman Michael Groesbeck says Chelsea Creek has left its banks, forcing the evacuations.
The National Weather Service says more than 2? inches of rain has fallen in the past 12 hours at Mason City and more is in the forecast. The Winnebago River sits 2 feet over flood stage of 10 feet and is expected to crest at 14.2 feet early Friday morning, near the top of the dike on the north side of Mason City.
The city says an emergency shelter has been set up for those who've been evacuated.
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8:30 a.m.
It's a soggy start to fall for several Midwestern states, where heavy rain has flooded homes, closed major highways and stranded motorists.
In Minnesota, where as much as 8 to 10 inches of rain fell in the Twin Cities area Wednesday night, the Department of Transportation fired up its snowplows to move standing water off major thoroughfares. About 75 miles to the south, several homes were evacuated in Waseca where nearly 14 inches of rain fell over two days.
In western Wisconsin, a portion of Highway 35 was closed because of a number of mudslides. Several school districts canceled classes Thursday because of travel difficulties.
In Iowa, the National Weather Service says at least three tornadoes knocked down trees and destroyed a couple of sheds in Floyd and Butler counties.