The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — There's a new challenge today for North Dakota residents along the slowly receding Red River -- getting government help.

Preliminary estimates suggest tens of millions of dollars in public damages. That's not counting losses by homeowners and businesses. It should be enough to put Minnesota and North Dakota in line for federal disaster aid.

Government assessment teams are calculating damage to roads, bridges, wastewater treatment plants and other public assets. The review of private property damage is under way in North Dakota and should start in Minnesota by week's end.

Officials in Fargo, N.D. hope the rebuilding effort will be funded largely by the federal government, and cleanup efforts will pump money into the economy through contractors.