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On June 23 drone photographer Andrew Weinzierl happened to have visited the Rapidan Dam among other locations as he started what he thought would be a series about local spots affected by flooding.

Weinzierl, 25, works in research, data analytics and data journalism out of his Mankato home, so the “side hustle” of aerial photography gives him a reason to get outside with his fiancée, he said.

He enjoys showing even familiar locations from angles people don’t usually see, such as Lions Park, a photo of which was chosen for the 2024 city of Mankato calendar. It’s different focus than the philosophy, political science and sociology he studied at Minnesota State University.

While he was looking at a big picture of flooding, literally, fate had other plans for him.

Rapidan Dam became his regular destination over the next week, and his drone footage from the site of the 115-year-old dam became a primary emotional link for people watching the slow deterioration of the banks of the Blue Earth River, and, ultimately, the destruction of the Rapidan Dam Store and the owners’ nearby home.

Video posted on his AW Aerial Facebook page helped show people what was going on at the location south of Mankato during a week when high, fast-moving water showed its destructive powers. (Other locals posting drone video have been Aerial Imagery Media and SHARE Media as well as The Free Press.)

Weinzierl’s postings also helped tell the story of the Hruska/Barnes family’s battle to try to save their 50-plus-year-old business.

“Six hours before the dam partially failed, I was right down there standing where the ground was stripped away,” he said. “I thought after that occurred, ‘Wow, I have this incredible footage, let me share it online.’ And I did just that.

“I shared a little bit of drone video online and people started picking it up, and people started asking me, ‘Hey, could you go back out? You know, could you provide an update?’”

While he admits he didn’t see it as his duty to do so, he did feel an obligation to himself to divert from his original plan of recording the area and focus on the Rapidan Dam.

Worried that he was gaining notoriety from someone else’s misery, he reached out to the Hruska family, owners of the Dam Store, and met with them Sunday.

Weinzierl knows that people can be hurt when information and video about what is happening to them is released without their permission. He said he wanted to be sure the Hruskas were OK with what he was doing.

“Everybody’s been watching it. We’re very appreciative of what he’s been doing for us,” David Hruska said when contacted later Sunday. He said the family is comfortable with what Weinzierl has done and is doing.

Weinzierl also has taken money he received from licensing his video to CNN, Fox News, NewsNation, The Associated Press and others and donated it to the GoFundMe campaign for the family. He will do the same with proceeds of future photo sales.

“I’ve been a little bit hesitant about showcasing devastation, tragedy online, not just the infrastructure, not for the county, but for the family,” he said.

“You know, that I took photos of their house when it was torn in half, posted those online and licensed them with The Associated Press. So, setting up a meeting with them alleviated my fears about, not necessarily the ethics, but just their perception of me and others.”

One week after his first visit there, he was at the dam again. After getting the OK from a sheriff’s deputy to set up outside of the roped-off viewer area, he lifted off his DJI Mini 3 Pro drone for another flight around the area.

He quickly attracted a crowd of interested onlookers and patiently answered their questions as he kept the drone in sight.

Some tidbits of drone information:

• Each battery charge can last about 30 minutes, based on Sunday’s weather conditions. He has a couple of backup batteries on hand.

• Weinzierl is an FAA-certified drone pilot and logs in each time he takes flight so others know he is up.

• He must keep the drone within sight while flying about 400 feet off the ground. Generally, that’s about 1,500 feet away, horizontally.

• The drone has anti-collision and under-carriage lighting for use at night.

• The drone has a memory card onboard.

• If something happens while in flight, the drone has an auto-landing failsafe. He could use that at any time as well, landing on a pad he places on the ground.

Being able to help the family was one of his reasons for continuing to post video, Weinzierl said, noting he includes the link when posting to Facebook.

“If I’m documenting this thing, I want to share it online and I want to direct people to the GoFundMe.”

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