Gays Mills is the town nearest Tainter Creek Brittany's where we were going for the puppy reunion.


MADISON, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle has ordered a state of emergency for southwestern Wisconsin after recent thunderstorms dumped more than a foot of rain in parts of the state.

Doyle has also activated the Wisconsin National Guard to assist with flooding relief. The governor was to hold a news conference at 2:30 on Sunday to address severe flooding across southwestern Wisconsin, WISC-TV reported.

Officials said that there's been up to 12 inches of rain on Saturday and into Sunday morning in southwestern Wisconsin, washing out roads and bridges and triggered a mudslide that pushed a house onto a highway.in The governor's office said that there are reports of widespread flooding in Crawford, Richland, La Crosse, Vernon and Grant counties on Saturday and Sunday.

But Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman Lori Getter said that there are no reports of injuries in the area, which includes Crawford, Richland, La Crosse, Vernon and Grant counties.

According to a news release, Doyle has also ordered the Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) to lead the state's emergency response efforts to the flooding and is directing all state agencies to assist with local communities as they recover from this natural disaster.

Getter said that numerous roads and bridges are washed out and closed.

Downtown Gays Mills in Crawford County was evacuated, with residents taken to the fire station, and a state of emergency put in effect there.

Getter said that a mudslide pushed a house onto state Highway 35 in Vernon County.

She said that authorities have been pulling people out of stalled cars, and evacuating them out of their homes. She said the Wisconsin National Guard is on standby.

Getter said the Pine Valley West Nursing Home in the Richland Center area was evacuated, and its 18 patients transported to another nursing home in the area.

She said six patients were moved from a Soldiers Grove nursing home to one in Boscobel.

The state emergency management spokeswoman said five cars of a 65-car train sitting on tracks a half mile south of Goose Island derailed and the area around the derailment was evacuated.

The National Weather Service said that at least an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain is forecast in southwestern