So the aerial view of your property clearly shows your fence or shed on your property but your neighbor just had a survey done and there’s a stake on your side of the fence.  How can this be?   Maps depicting land boundaries can be viewed on numerous Internet sites, including County websites.  However, they are merely for reference and should not be relied upon for boundary information.  We have seen maps as much as 30 feet off.  If you are making decisions about your property or question what your neighbor is doing on theirs, having a boundary survey done by a Professional Land Surveyor is the only way to accurately delineate your property.  

The term “100-year flood event” can be misleading. It is not an event that happens once in 100 years.  Rather, it is the amount of precipitation needed to achieve a flood elevation, and this event has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. In this area, it is the elevation based on a 24-hour rainfall of 5.9-6.0 inches. Encountering a "100-year storm" on one day does not decrease the chance of a second 100-year storm occurring in that same year or any year to follow.

More recently, FEMA has tried to clarify the probability of a 100-year flood by saying that it has about a 26 percent chance of occurring during the life of a 30-year home mortgage. That's about triple the risk of a fire during that same period.  There’s also been talk about changing the terminology and/or metric for measuring flood risk.  However, key players -- such as FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service -- have not agreed on a new metric.  Until then, it will be up to engineers, hydrologists and flood agencies to inform the public as to the terminology used.

In Minnesota, most municipalities require storm sewers to be designed for a 10-year storm event.  Larger events create ponding at catch basins until the water reaches the emergency overflow elevation (EOF).  The EOF is typically designed to be 1’-2’ lower than adjacent buildings.  Stormwater ponds are designed for the 100-year, 24-hour storm event.  However, there are many factors that can contribute to flooding.  Among other factors, frozen ground, saturated soil, high river/lake levels, silted catch basins and an intense rainfall (flash flood event) can exacerbate flooding. 

Some of George Washington's surveying instruments and an assortment of other personal items sold this month at auction for more than $167,000.  George Washington used the instruments when he served as a County Surveyor. 

The items were passed down through generations of Washington's family. Tom Slater, Heritage Auctions' director of Americana, said that while items related to Washington aren't rare, it is unusual to have pieces up for auction that have been kept in the family for so long.

The highest bid value was for George Washington's compass, which sold for $59,750.  A Gunter's Scale (a 24-inch wooden ruler that was a precursor to the slide rule) brought nearly $42,000. Both items sold for more than expected.  The auction company said the buyers asked to remain anonymous.

An archive of hundreds of Washington family papers dating from 1662 through 1835 brought $50,788, and several pieces of Washington's original coffin, including a handle, brought more than $12,000 total.  Family members said parting with the collection of papers will be most difficult.

"People can read these to get a sense of the times: There's a recipe for making cement," said Tom Washington, 62, a career counselor in Kirkland, Wash and a descendent of George Washington's brother, John Augustine Washington. He said his father, Nat Washington, a longtime state senator in Washington who died in 2007, had said in his will that he wanted the items sold.