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DELANO, Minn. -- The small Minnesota town of Delano is known for its big spirit.

"Delano people are the epitome of Minnesota nice," said Pam Meier, a Delano native living in St. Louis Park.

Meier and her husband Bob plan to spend the day at the downtown celebration.

"I grew up in Delano, on Third Street which used to be the parade route. Since I was 6 years old, Delano Fourth of July has been tradition and now my family comes out for it every year," said Meier.

Theirs wasn't the only patriotism on full display during a rainy July Fourth 5k.

"I didn't notice. They started to tell me, 'Dad it's raining,'" explained Nicholas Tubbs from Buffalo.

As more runners began to cross the finish line, there were downpours in Delano.

Storms led organizers to delay the start of the parade by about 30 minutes, but no one was giving up their spot along the downtown streets for a parade with a long history.

"It's the largest Fourth of July celebration in the state. It started the year before Minnesota became a state," said Meier.

By the time the Lakeville South Band made it to the corner of 2nd & Elm around noon, the rain had ended.

The Meiers are looking forward to a change of clothes before coming back to enjoy the rest of what this day offers.

"I think it's fantastic. All the softball and the carnival and baseball games. It's just a complete celebration," said Bob Meier.

A celebration that won't be complete without Tuesday night's 27-minute fireworks show. But even if the weather doesn't cooperate, this community feels complete and connected.

Delano plans to wrap up its Fourth of July celebration with a fireworks show at 10:30.

Derek James

Derek James anchors Saturday and Sunday evening newscasts and contributes stories during the week on "The 4."

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Delano announces closures amidst flooding concerns

Delano city officials are monitoring river levels as the rain falls and the water continues to rise.

In Delano, River Street is living up to its name.

“We always cross that bridge and you look down into the water and it’s like way down, so it definitely came up a lot,” Averi Shrode, Delano resident, said.

Now the downtown bridge is shut down to cars and pedestrians because the Crow River is rising too fast.

“It gives some people something to do to come check it out and look how high it is. The kids think it’s interesting,” Shrode said.

City officials are also keeping a close eye on it.

“Our river levels have gone up in the last 24 hours, along with the change of the crest,” Holly Schrupp, Delano mayor, said.

About 24 hours ago, the river was cresting at 19.2 ft, but now it’s over 20 ft.

“So far we have closed floodgates, installed pumps in several areas and we’ve installed our flood wall that went up on Wednesday morning,” Schrupp said.

In several areas around the city, drivers are met with mini lakes forming in the middle of the road.

At Barb King Inspiration Park, a stormwater drainage issue created a pool next to a playground.

“We have a couple of acres of woods and a trail that goes through the woods over that way and it is completely underwater,” Ayla Lienhert, Delano resident, said.

This is Lienheart’s first dose of Delano flooding.

She said she bought her house in February so her family can take advantage of the land.

But those plans are on pause.

“We just watched all of the ice break apart last weekend and now it’s three times as wide,” Lienhert said.

But all they can do is go with the flow.

“We live in a crazy state where it was just 80 degrees and now it’s flooding,” Shrode said.

The mayor said Public Works will be working throughout the day and night to monitor river levels.

Officials are urging residents to respect the barricades and don’t go around them for their safety.

Nearby in Carver County residents are seeing road closures.

Friday afternoon, portions of both Highway 32 and Highway 11, which turns into Highway 9 in Scott County, will close due to flooding concerns from the Minnesota River.

Highway 32 between Vega Ave and Highway 135 will close Friday at 2:30 p.m.

Highway 11/Jonathan Carver Parkway, which turns into Highway 9 in Scott County, will close at 1 p.m.

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Floodwall goes up in Delano

The Crow River in Delano is now cresting its banks — its high waters lapping lower sections of the town bridge.

“There was water going across the road a little ways down,” notes Kelly Miller, who lives just outside town. “I think that’s when they made the decision to put up the levee.”

The aerial view from CHOPPER 5 shows floodwaters expanding the river’s profile after last week’s snowmelt and high temperatures across Minnesota.

“The melt goes into the river,” explains Delano Mayor Holly Schrupp. “Last fall, you could’ve walked across the river from side to side and you had spots where your ankles didn’t get wet.”

But not anymore.

On Tuesday morning, city crews installed a metal floodwall.

“I think it’s just, you know, to help prevent flooding on this main drag that’s our kind of awesome downtown,” Miller says.

The city bought the wall in 2014.

But those giant metal sheets, with removable brackets to hold them, have only been used twice: in March 2019 — and now.

“They are waterproof,” Schrupp says. “They lock tight in between them, so they have like a rubber piece that is in between each one, and they just lock together, kind of like Legos. They stay together like Legos.”

It’s technology that wasn’t used here when the main streets were severely flooded in 1965.

That year, the river crested at 23 feet above normal.

Schrupp says the metal floodwall is a big improvement over sandbag levees, which she says can be messy, and take a week to put into place.

“We would close the main street because obviously, we’d use large equipment to bring in the dirt — and the public works department assembled a levee, a makeshift levee,” she said.

Tamey Dobrava’s home décor shop — ‘Mark 12’ — is on River Street, not far from the Crow River’s swollen banks.

She says she’s happy about the wall — and the fact that she can stay open.

“Oh, much better — we appreciate it,” Dobrava declares.

But she says she’s concerned about the foot-deep waters in her shop’s basement.

“It’s a lot of water down there,” Dobrava says. “We don’t have a sump pump in the building.”

City Administrator Phil Kern says that the flooding is from groundwater rising at about the same rate as the river.

He says the wall will remain up until authorities are convinced the river has receded for the season —that’s expected to take at least several days.

Dobrava says she’s just thankful her showroom and the street out front have remained dry.

“It’s very nerve-wracking for us,” she says. “We are a newer business, our livelihood is people on the street being able to park and get to us so, we’ve been really worried about shutting River Street down.”

DELANO, Minn. - Delano's Fourth of July celebration might be known as Minnesota's oldest. But there's something new that's really catching everyone's attention – and something they want to capture for themselves.

"It's really fun to get people involved because they remember it more," said chalk artist Shawn McCann.

MORE NEWS: Where to view fireworks in Minnesota in 2023

A chalk artist for more than 20 years, McCann is literally adding a new dimension to his portfolio. The process starts with both print and digital sketches. The liquid chalk helps make it pop.

"From there I do some math and calculations of how big it's going to be, how it's gonna come together, and then implanting it onto the street and bringing it to life," he said. "We're in a viral age where people love to have those Instagram photos or TikTok videos. And so with the 3D street art that I do, it's something that you don't really know what you're looking at until you hit that magic point."

Besides McCann, there are more than 20 other artists who contributed their own masterpieces on Third Street. Tuesday's rain may have darkened or dampened some of the colors, but nothing could wash away the creativity.

McCann says that's exactly the point. He wants to inspire the next generation of artists by getting them outside.

MORE NEWS: Minnesotans dodge rounds of rainfall while celebrating Fourth of July

"We're working against Mother Nature, we're working outside, we're working with all the elements and so it's more about the act of creating than the finished piece," he said. "It really is like celebrating your space and your town and your area."

McCann never draws the same piece twice. You can see his next creation at the Downtown Minneapolis Street Art Festival next month.

Jonah Kaplan

Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota's investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.

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DELANO, Minn. – Delano sits about a half-hour west of the Twin Cities. The Crow River runs through it. Flood stage is considered 16.5 feet. The river is already well past that at 19 feet.

It's expected to rise slightly Wednesday, before levels finally start to fall.

RELATED: Spring flooding in Minnesota: 2023 updates

"They're wondering where all the water's coming from and I told them all that snow we had all winter long. It all has to go somewhere," said Buffalo resident Cole Gothman, who was overlooking the river with his young kids.

With the water level where it is and more rain in the forecast for this week, the city put up its flood walls, blocking this bridge off to traffic for the first time in almost a decade.

"The boards actually just slide together like Legos to make the wall so that the water stays on that side and people hopefully stay on this side," said Delano Mayor Holly Schrupp.

It's not inconceivable water could wash up onto the bridge in a few days, but even then, downtown Delano businesses are safe.

David Schuman

David joined the WCCO team in April 2020, previously working at CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he worked in Las Vegas. While there, David covered several stories in the national spotlight, including the October 1 mass shooting and political visits from President Barack Obama and candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

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