Winneshiek County Emergency Government officials look into getting more sandbags

When the Flood of 2008 occurred, Winneshiek County went through 68,000 sandbags.  Because this year's August flooding occurred so quickly, only 1,000 sandbags were filled.

But Winneshiek county Emergency Government Director Sean Snyder says the county needs to be ready for the next possible flood.  That's why he's begun doing research on sandbags.

Snyder told county supervisors Monday he could save $650 on 10,000 sandbags by ordering them from a Las Vegas company.

Snyder also says Decorah Fire Chief Mike Ashbacher has begun looking into whether a local craftsperson could make a sandbagging machine.  It would cost up to $20,000 to purchase such a machine (if it included an auger to keep the sand moving), but Ashbacher is hoping a $10,000 four-chute manual feed sandbag machine could cost under $10,000.