June 2, 1997 - School officials in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks are trying to clean up, dry out and repair their school buildings in time for the start of classes in the fall. The school year abruptly ended in April for both districts when the flooding Red River forced residents to evacuate. Flood damage to schools is estimated at more than 40-million dollars in Grand Forks and at least 10-million dollars in East Grand Forks. Some of the schools might never reopen. Minnesota Public Radios Tim Pugmire reports... (Sound)
June 2, 1997 - (FOR AIR MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1997) Even before the snow melted this spring... the harsh winter was expected to cause problems for farmers in the Red River Valley. Now, following the widespread flooding farmers are getting back into the fields... and many are finding they are actually on schedule. However as Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports... some farmers say they will still take a beating... (sound of tractor tilling away) North of Moorhead, a few miles from the Red River...Curt Brendemuhl is working
June 3, 1997 - Governor Carlson has vetoed his 200-th bill of his tenure as Governor. He pulled out his well-inked pen and killed the K-12 Education Funding Bill Today (tues) Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports: It's no secret...Governor Carlson holds the record for the number of vetoes issued by any governor in state history. He is an ardent supporter of the power of the veto, saying it not only ensures that no single partisan agenda dominates...but also ensures greater bi-partisan cooperation among lawmakers and an active Governor willing to delve deep into the legislative process. Carlson was up-front about what he wanted from the K-1
June 4, 1997 - House and Senate Republicans have wrapped up final details on legislation providing five-and-a-half billion dollars worth of disaster relief. But Republicans did keep provisions that have sparked veto threats from the Clinton administration. Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson, who represents the flooded areas of the Red River Valley, says today's progress will result in more delays: Minnesota 7th District Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson. Sun 28-MAY 19:13:13 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
June 4, 1997 - Farm drainage ditches help keep thousands of acres of Minnesota cropland dry enough to produce crops each year. Some say the ditches do their job too well and are such efficient water movers they contribute to downstream flooding. During this year's floods one county engineer said ditches became "raging rivers", with their own distinct flood plains. Economic gain versus environmental damage....that's the arguement behind a dispute between two southwest Minnesota counties over the reconstruction of a farm drainage ditch. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports: The farmland water Yellow Medicine and Lyon
June 5, 1997 - When the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks abruptly canceled the remaining weeks of spring semester because of flooding... some of the l4 hundred seniors felt it was an early graduation present. They could proceed directly to the job market without taking finals or turning in papers. But it hasnt been as easy for others ..........especially those facing state examinations in the medical field and a tight local job market. Rachel Reabe of our Mainstreet Radio team has the story. Jennifer Bry was in the home stretch of nursing school. Finishing up four years of classes and practicums, she was looking forward to graduating from the University of North Dakota with a nursing degree. She had a surgical nursing job lined up at United Hospital in Grand Forks. After passing the state n
June 9, 1997 - Today is the 25th anniversary of one of the most deadly flash floods in U-S history. The Rapid City, South Dakota, flood killed 238 people and four additional bodies have never been found. In this first of two reports - Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland talks with several people who lost their homes and neighbors in the flood. ANNOUNCER OUT COPY: Tomorrow we'll hear about that clean-up - the funerals and the recovery in Rapid City and how some of the decisions made 25 years ago effect how we handle natural disasters today.
June 10, 1997 - The tabloids in Britain recently told how a young British exchange student essentially revived the spirit of the blitz when she volunteered during the flooding of the Red River Valley. Trouble is, the papers exaggerated a little about brave young Katie Ballinger, an 18-year old exchange student spending the school year in Baudette. --------------------------------------------------------- | D-CART ITEM: 6120 | TIME: 2:48 | OUTCUE: "...THAT WAS ENOUGH." --------------------------------------------------------- Liz Ballinger and her exchange student daughter Katie return to England next week. They're staying with Katie's host family in Baudette, Minnesota. She attended Lake of the Woods High School. Sun 28-MAY 19:11:12 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
June 10, 1997 - The 25th Anniversary of one of the most deadly flash floods in U-S history is being remembered today as a successful recovery effort - NOT for the devastation. In Rapid City South Dakota 238 people died in June of 1972 in a matter of hours as water rose to as high as 10 feet in places. Minnesota Public Radio has more on the recovery efforts: In the wee hours of the morning of June 10th 25 years ago people were starting to realize the devastation of the flash flood from the night before. Houses that once rounded out a neighborhood were blocking major roads - cars were stacked like dominoes and dead bodies were scattered in the debris. Sonya Sykora was 14 years old at the time of the flood. She says the da
June 11, 1997 - Relief has poured into flood ravaged Grand Forks... bottled water and cleaning supplies by the truck load... mountains of clothes.... and much needed cash. But at this point, a month and a half after the flood, one of the most precious commodities is musclepower.......people willing to pitch in and help residents put their houses and lives back in order. Some of that brute-strength is coming from an unlikely source..... Minnesota prison inmates. Rachel Reabe of our Mainstreet Radio team has the story.