Governor Walker (Who R U?) Visits LaCrosse...

to View Damage from Sunday's Tornado.

Preliminary estimates indicate millions of dollars in damage to a tornado-ravaged South La Crosse, but federal aid likely won’t reach homeowners. A tornado packing winds up to 120 mph cut through 2.3 miles of the city’s South Side at 4:23 p.m. Sunday. In the four minutes it spent on the ground, the twister destroyed houses and buildings, snapped trees and downed power lines.

State aid will help cover costs to the city, but the destruction won’t meet the criteria necessary for a federal disaster declaration, La Crosse County Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Butler said.

“This is on the low end of what happens when a tornado moves through a community,” he said. “We’re very fortunate.”

Here's a rather funny exchange, all things considered:

On Monday afternoon, a homeowner and a politician met at Green Bay and South 13th streets. They discussed the storm’s power and its destruction in the man’s yard where attic insulation wrapped a fallen tree’s branches.

“Hang in there,” the politician said, shaking the man’s hand.

“Thank you. What’s your name?”

“Scott Walker. I’m your governor.”

Walker and state Rep. Jennifer Shilling toured hard-hit businesses and walked Green Bay Street visiting with distraught and still startled residents. The governor pledged state assistance.

“We want to make sure that everyone whose home and business has been affected is back up and running as soon as possible,” Walker said.