By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Gov. Mike Parson returns to northwest Missouri for another flyover of widespread flooding from the Iowa border to south of St. Joseph.

Parson has issued an emergency declaration, the first step in requesting a federal disaster declaration for the region.

“Our number one priority is to keep people safe and to protect the property that is out there and to continue to keep people safe and monitor the situation,” Parson tells reporters during a news conference at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

Parson says the total damage done by the flooding is unknown at this time. He says an assessment will be done when the waters recede so a disaster assistance request can be made to the federal government.

Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn has surveyed the damage along with the governor during a helicopter tour from the border of Iowa to south of St. Joseph.

Chinn says no one can tell the extent of the damage done to farmland.

“Right now, it’s too early to asses the damage,” Chinn tells reporters. “We have to wait for the water to recede. However, the Missouri FSA office is going to be prepared and ready when that time comes to start accessing the damage.”

Then, Chinn says the state will put in a request for federal assistance to the USDA.

“So, until the water recedes, right now it’s going to be too early for us to tell what the damage is going to be, but we are ready and prepared to help our farmers in the weeks and days ahead to make sure that we are there to give them everything that they need,” according to Chinn.

The widespread flooding in northwest Missouri is rekindling a long-simmering dispute between the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Gov. Parson says he has not spoken to Army Corps of Engineers officials, yet.

But, the governor says the Corps needs to re-prioritize to put the safety of people and their property first.

“When you’re affecting states like Nebraska, like Iowa, and Missouri all at the same time, we need to re-evaluate what our priorities are for the Corps of Engineers,” Parson says.

The governor says he plans to meet with the Corps.

“I think there’s a long history with the state not being really happy with the Corps of Engineers, how they conduct this thing, how they’re doing these levees, and how they’re actually using the waterways in our state. So, it’s a concern.”

Parson says he saw much more destruction in his second flyover of flooded northwest Missouri.