April 13, 2001 - Many Granite Falls residents will take time off from the sandbag lines this weekend to celebrate the Easter holiday. Bruce Kenzel is the Pastor of Granite Falls Lutheran Church. He says his congregation will be ready for the break after a long bittersweet week:
April 16, 2001 - A bitter cold front pouring out of Canada is bringing more wintery weather to the region. High temperatures today hovered in the 20s and 30s across much of the state. Rich Naistat is a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. He says it IS cold for the season, but we have had even colder readings.
April 16, 2001 - The National Weather Service says it appears the Red River has crested at Wahpeton Breckenridge, Fargo/Moorhead and Grand Forks/East Grand Forks. While the Red crested lower than earlier predicted, the river is expected to stay high for the next several days. After a busy week of building levees and filling sandbags, things were quiet yesterday along the Red River. Many people were able to take a break, but some must remain vigilant until the river recedes. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.
April 16, 2001 - Stillwater tourists are watching the water rise and the construction workers to put down sandbags along the Saint Croix River.
April 16, 2001 - The focus of flood fighting moved south today as the Mississippi River crests near Wabasha. The rising water forced officials to close the bridge between Wabasha and Nelson, Wisconsin. River watchers in La Crosse saw the Mississippi rise to 16 feet, with predictions it will rise another foot before it crests. It flooded rail lines, forcing Amtrak to bus Chicago to Seattle passengers around the water. Meanwhile Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Albaugh toured the Devil's Lake area, and the Red River Valley. While communities along the Red are cautiously confident they will hold the waters at bay, they are concerned about the cost of the flood prevention effort. Many hope the federal government will come through with disaster aid, and the FEMA director's visit could play a major part in that.
April 16, 2001 - For more than two weeks now the houseboat residents on Latch Island have watched the Mississippi rise to its highest levels in three decades. Positioned between Winona and the Wisconsin border, and surrounded by river and other flood plain islands, Latch Island serves as a year round anchor for an estimated thirty houseboats. Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports many in the unusual community plan to wait out the flood waters as the river prepares to crest on Wednesday. {It's taken a few weeks, but slowly, Latch Island has disappeared. Spindly trees holding out against the current are the only things that identify what was land. Sol Simon owns one of the floating cottages that continue to bob along despite the rising river.
April 17, 2001 - Granite Falls continuously gets hit hard during the annual floods. The money would be issued to families and to build new dikes. Governor Ventura and the House of Representatives are not backing the idea.
April 17, 2001 - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Albaugh spent most of yesterday touring flooded areas in the Red River Valley. Albaugh viewed flooded areas, and several FEMA funded projects that are successfully preventing flooding this year. The FEMA director made no promise of federal aid, but praised Minnesota and North Dakota officials for preventing serious flood damage this year. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.
April 17, 2001 - Mississippi River communities along the Minnesota and Wisconsin boarder are anxiously waiting for water levels to crest. Wabasha officials hope the worst is over their town, after the Mississippi reached its expected peak early this morning at more than 6-feet over flood stage. As the water slowly begins to recede in Wabasha, further down river Winona is anticipating the Mississippi will hit the high mark any time today. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports from another Mississippi River town, La Crosse, where crest height and timing remain unclear. {(rushing water sound)
April 17, 2001 - MPR’s Marisa Helms reports on the status of flooding along rivers in Minnesota as some begin to crest. As officials and residents finish flood preparations, they now monitor dikes and levees, waiting to see what happens next. The Minnesota River has already crested in the Granite Falls and Montevideo area. The Mississippi River Flood of 2001 brought the 2nd to 3rd highest crests on record to many Mississippi River locations, including Lake City, Wabash, and Winona. The Mississippi River impacted the metro as well. It crested at 23.8 feet in St. Paul, submerging riverfront parks, the airport, and closing roads.