Oct. 13—BEMIDJI — The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering physical damage disaster loans to businesses, nonprofits, homeowners and renters in five Minnesota counties affected by spring flooding.

The declaration covers Koochiching County and the adjacent counties of Beltrami, Itasca, Lake of the Woods and St. Louis.

Anyone in these counties with physical property damage caused by the flooding that began on April 22 and continued through June 15 can apply for the low-interest disaster loan program.

The deadline for the applications is Nov. 7, and the administration encourages applications to be filled out as soon as possible.

"Waiting to file an SBA application could cause unnecessary delays in receiving disaster assistance, and survivors may miss the application deadline," said Kem Fleming, director of SBA Field Operations Center East. "Submitting the loan application is an essential part of the disaster recovery process."

Interest rates are as low as 2.94% for businesses, 1.875% for nonprofit organizations and 1.438% for homeowners and renters. Terms are up to 30 years.

Exact loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial conditions.

Applications can be done online via the SBA's website and should be done under SBA declaration 17612.

Application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, or by emailing

DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.

Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 15925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.