Fair offers relief in flood-weary county

The opening of the county fair in Jefferson County today should serve as a needed distraction for residents who have spent weeks cleaning up the damage caused by last month's rainstorms and floods, organizers said.

"The people of Jefferson County need some entertainment right now," fair park supervisor Roger Kylmanen said.

The fairgrounds sit at a relatively high elevation and weren't swept up in the flooding that shut down I-94 in Jefferson County and damaged homes and businesses in a wide swath of the state.

County residents complained that some resources didn't come to the area for weeks after the flooding.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery center opened Monday.Fair facilities served as a staging area for volunteers who organized sandbagging during the storms and cleanup crews once the water started to recede.