Month: September 2026

By Nick Lunemann

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    PRIOR LAKE, Minnesota (WCCO) — The unofficial end of summer left some boaters in Minnesota high and dry over Labor Day weekend.

Most of the state is bone dry right now. That’s led to lower lake levels and banged-up boats.

Bob Ebert’s Labor Day ride was a rare one on Prior Lake.

“This thing does great. I can go into one foot of water with it. So I have no issues,” Ebert said while standing near his watercraft.

That’s good news for Ebert because the lake is very low.

“It’s funny, there’s a rock in front of my house that I kind of watch, and the levels. It’s probably a foot down from that. So that’s kind of how I gauge how the lake’s doing,” Ebert said.

For 16 years, Lexie Seurer and her dad have run Prior Lake Pontoon Rental. When the lake changes, they notice.

The drought is to blame for the low water levels. Nearly half of Minnesota is in a severe drought, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

As water levels fall, the DNR is warning boaters about how they load up back on land.

“When that happens, it kind of just slides all of the, like, sand, and rock and everything that’s connected to that concrete slab out,” Seurer told WCCO while at a Prior Lake boat landing.

“Then you’ll have to power load, which creates a big hole behind the structured ramp. And then that creates problems for others,” Ebert said.

Instead, the DNR says to use idle speed and the trailer winch, and check where the ramp ends before backing in.

Trailers can get stuck, and with hazards closer to the surface, props can get damaged. But there is one upside to the low water levels.

“Pretty much everybody has a beach now,” Seurer said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Alys Martinez

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A Los Angeles animal rescue group is desperately trying to find a permanent home for a 6-year-old dog whose owners were swept up during an immigration raid.

Macey, a shepherd-husky mix, was left behind when her family was detained during a raid in Palmdale in 2025. Since then, she’s bounced between multiple homes and shelters in search of a new family.

“She was in much better condition than most of the animals we see in the shelter,” said Victoria Begler, the founder and director of GSL Rescue. “Her previous family had gotten her spayed already. She clearly had been very loved and cared for.”

Begler said that Macey was saved from the shelter the day that she was set to be euthanized 10 months ago. They were hopeful that would be her forever home, but the family brought her back to the shelter. Another family also took Macey in as a trial adoption recently, but also brought her back.

“Macey cannot go back into a shelter, because she was on a euthanasia list, meaning if she’s returned to the shelter, she will be euthanized,” she said. “Because she’s been returned to our rescue, we need an adopter or foster ASAP, or we will need to put her into a boarding facility.”

Begler said it’s likely because of the sudden separation from her original family that she’s having a hard time fitting in with another.

“Macey is a very loyal dog. She bonds to people instantly. She wants to be your best friend for life as soon as you meet her,” Begler said. “If someone is willing to give Macey that same loyalty, I think she could be somebody’s soul dog.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Dean Fioresi, Michele Gile

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Several homes along a Dana Point street were red-tagged due to damage from the powerful surf that has battered the Southern California coastline in recent days

According to a news release from city officials on Tuesday, seven Beach Street homes, located in the Capistrano Beach neighborhood between Dana Point Harbor and San Clemente, were red-tagged, and two other homes were also yellow-tagged. The news comes with another round of high tide expected in the evening.

“The City has been and remains in communication with the Capistrano Bay District community and is monitoring for damage,” the release said. “City staff have been and will remain on site to inspect damage and, when appropriate, place tags and advise residents to vacate homes that exhibit structural damage and make them unsafe.”

Officials said that the first home was found damaged last week, on August 28, when a residential deck was destroyed.

“The affected property owners are collaborating with a coastal consultant and engineering firm to undertake emergency measures to protect their property,” the release said.

Interim work being conducted on Tuesday included installing a boulder revetment behind homes to protect them from the wave action.

Video from the scene showed multiple collapsed decks and sea walls as a constant deluge of waves continued to batter the beachfront properties.

“Our sea wall started to fail on Thursday. So, we had some people come in and do emergency repairs,” said Shalesh Gupta, whose home is one of the many impacted. “It just wasn’t adequate, so more and more of our sea wall started to fail.”

His patio “fell into the ocean” on Saturday, followed by their living room and bedrooms.

Gupta said that he was granted an emergency permit to tear down the remainder of their home.

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said that sand replenishment is necessary in the area, including the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, to protect the coast.

“On a temporary basis, they are trying to get some riffraff boulders in here, some sand in here behind the boulders,” Foley said. “In the last three years, we’ve deposited about 100,000 cubic yards of sand at Capo Beach, which is north of this area. What the scientists tell me, and the engineers, is that that sand, thank goodness, has made its way to Beach Road in the normal process. But, it’s not enough.”

She said that they realistically need 1 million cubic yards of sand to help replenish the beach.

Dana Point is just one of several Southern California communities that felt the impact of the extremely strong surf generated by Hurricane Marie, which churned hundreds of miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean over the weekend. In Malibu, more than 30 homes were placed under evacuation orders due to similar damage being caused by the powerful waves. Almost two dozen Long Beach homes were also evacuated on Monday night because of the surf, which damaged the boardwalk.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kristen Consillio

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    KAPA’A, Hawai’i (KITV) — Dozens of guests were evacuated on Monday morning in Kapa’a as winds, rain and surf from Hurricane Lowell increased in intensity within hours.

“We basically just checked in last night and we’re having to check out cause it’s getting kind of bad I guess,” a Texas man said.

The last remaining guests here at the ISO Hotel in Kapa’a are evacuating after waking up to knocks on their door to pack up and leave.

“We were actually heading to the grocery store it’s about 40 minutes away and they told us that we had to come back and evacuate,” said Leticia Venegas, a Texas visitor. “They said we gotta evacuate by 11.”

The ISO Hotel warned guests about the threat and rapidly deteriorating conditions, but many were left with limited options. A couple of schools nearby were designated as refuge shelters.

“They told us to go to two different places either a middle school gym or a high school gym,” Venegas continued,

And with the storm expected to worsen overnight and uncertainty of how bad it will be, many on Kauai are scrambling to find a place of safety.

“We’re trying to see if we can go try and find somewhere else to stay. We don’t know the area so we’re basically just stuck here,” Venegas said. “It feels like it’s going to get bad, so you do worry. You’re far from home so if anything happens, it’s one of those things that you’re just going to have to deal with it as it comes.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Chloe Adams

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    HENDERSONVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Nearly two years after Helene wiped out dozens of affordable homes in Hendersonville, $16.8 million in federal funding is expected to help rebuild them as the city faces an ongoing shortage of housing residents can afford.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the award to the Hendersonville Affordable Housing Corporation for Lincoln Circle and Robinson Terrace as part of $137 million recently approved for 114 recovery and mitigation projects across North Carolina.

The money comes as housing remains a growing challenge locally. Hendersonville’s 2026 Strategic Housing Plan estimates Henderson County will need about 10,000 additional housing units over the next five years.

The Housing Authority currently offers 375 affordable dwelling units for low and moderate income families, the elderly and those with disabilities. Still, housing officials said demand remains high and the storm exacerbated it.

Along both Lincoln Circle and Robinson Terrace, windows and doors remain boarded up. Stewart pointed out emergency tape near the roof of one home, marking where she said a rescue boat was tied during the flooding.

“The women that lived here talked about at 5:30 (in the morning of Sept. 27, 2024), they woke up and the water was at their ankles,” Stewart said. “By the time they got their kids out, it was waist deep, and it came so fast.

“Thank goodness we did not lose one soul.”

Stewart said 50 homes are considered total losses and are expected to be demolished and rebuilt. At the same time, other homes on Lincoln Circle managed to escape the worst of the catastrophic flooding.

“The water…I just can’t imagine the path it chose because it seems unreal to me,” Stewart said. “So I’m sure these people were as afraid, because they were thinking, ‘Is that water coming here?’ And thank goodness it did not.”

FEMA said $102 million will support 104 public assistance projects, while about $34 million will go toward acquiring nearly 80 flood-prone properties through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

The agency said federal support for Helene and other recent disasters in North Carolina has now surpassed $7.5 billion.

Stewart said planning is underway to rebuild these new units and expects for them to be complete in two years.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.