Crops get timely rain in Mankato
by The Associated Press

MANKATO -- The rain fell just in time for crops in the Mankato area.

Until Thursday, Mankato was one of the driest spots in Minnesota _ nearly 4 inches below average during the past 30 days.

But rain this week fell just as crops move into the reproductive stage.

Mankato received about 2 inches of rain, and Waseca almost 4 1/2 inches.

Gyles Randall, a soil scientist in Waseca, says crops there had received only 1.3 inches of rain during the past 35 days, causing a drop in soil moisture.

But despite the heavy downfall, the storm had only small hail and probably didn't damage crops much.