April 24, 1997 - When the water recedes from Grand Forks and other flooded towns, residents and business owners will find their homes and stores covered in an unpleasant, stubborn sludge. And they will find legions of volunteers and government agents offering relief from misery. For a peek at what might be in store for the people of North Dakota and Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio's Jon Gordon talked with victims of recent flooding in Kentucky. Here's his report. On the first day of March, heavy rains caused the Ohio River and its tributaries to swell far beyond their banks. Thousands of Kentucky homes and businesses were destroyed. President Clinton declared much of the state a disaster area.
April 24, 1997 - For families affected by flooding in the Red River Valley, their first stop may be the Salvation Army's disaster headquarters in Fargo. A vacant building near the West Acres shopping center has been converted into a makeshift supermarket with emergency supplies. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... (nat) A f
April 25, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter talks with northern Minnesota painter Liz Sivertson about her work and what forms her creative inspiration. They preview and exhibition of paintings by Sivertson: colorful, whimsical pictures she did for the children's book “North Country Spring.”
April 25, 1997 - (to run out of Koenig piece) I'm Laura McCallum in Moorhead. There's an on-going "reunion" of residents of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks taking place in the Moorhead State University ballroom. Evacuees can watch videos of their flooded town, have a cup of coffee, and check a wall covered by hand-written messages with people's whereabouts. A huge map of the community sits on an easel, and people who stop by mark the spot where their home is located. About thirty families from East Grand Forks, and nearly
April 25, 1997 - One of the biggest challenges for people who left the Red River Valley because of flooding has been getting information about their homes, towns and loved ones. Communication for evacuees who fled in every direction has been set up through the internet, ham radio, cellular phones, videos and teleconferences. We have two reports on communication efforts. In a moment we will hear from Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum about a grass roots communications center, but first Minnesota Public Radio's Christina Koenig looks at a high tech approach to disaster communications.
April 25, 1997 - A fundraiser organized by Twin Cities radio stations brought a flood of donations this morning in Minneapolis. More than 20 semi-trailer trucks filled with soap, towels and other goods are headed for people in the Red River Valley affected by floodwaters. Organizers estimate money raised from the event will top half a million dollars. The money will be split by the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. tape . . . sfx 9:00 help you unload? With the sun just peeking over the Minneapolis skyline organizers of the fundraiser got a hint of what they had created. A stream of vehicles grew into two lanes of traffic with volunteers racing to un
April 28, 1997 - David Parker started with an interest in child labor in the United States, tracking kids in the many jobs they do here, from State Fair booths to fast food restaurants. But as photographer and physician, Parker found his focus shifting overseas, and he's compiled a photo essay documenting the far worse conditions for working kids in the Third World. Children reportedly make up 11-percent of the workforce in some Asian countries, 17-percent in Africa, and maybe 25-percent in Latin America. David Parker is a photographer and physician with the Minnesota Health Department. His photos of child labor have been displayed at the U.S.Capitol and Department of Labor, and will be published this summer in a book called "Stolen Dreams".
April 28, 1997 - (Grand Forks) -- U-S House Majority Leader Dick Armey paid his home state a visit today to view flood damage. Armey grew up in Cando and attended graduate school at University of North Dakota-Grand Forks. Armey says the flood damage tore him up. He recalled the days when he and his wife dreamed of living in the well-to-do Belmont Park section of the city. That part of town is still partially submerged. Armey says people in the Grand Forks area should stay and rebuild. Armey was to tour flooding around Devils Lake, also. We called political consultant DJ Leary for his take on yet another high-level political visit.
April 28, 1997 - Man does not live by bread alone, so as friends and neighbors reach out to flood victims with food and shelter, other folks are offering ... Grateful Dead tapes over the internet. I'll have an e-mail address for you in a few minutes. The group The Grateful Dead was known for letting fans make tapes of their shows, as long as they were never offered for sale, and these tapes can be as important to Deadheads as a book collection or a shelffull of Toby mugs might be to other people. And losing them to the floodwaters would be equally devastating. Steve Patterson of Corvallis, Oregon is a Deadhead with a lot of tapes -- he's been collecting for eleven years -- and he's been following the flood story on public radio. --------------------------------------------------------- | D-CART ITEM: 9291 | TIME: 2:31 | OUTCUE: "...FOR THE POSTAGE." ---------------------------------------------------------
April 28, 1997 - Clean up along the Red River in Minnesota and North Dakota is just beginning...but some government representatives are already busy looking at the long-term policy questions raised the floods. State officials say they'll need new ideas to pay for Minnesota's costliest natural disaster. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports... At its daily briefing on flood news, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's office of Emergency Management reported the Red River was cresting lower than expected at Saint Vincent, the last stop on the river's nothern flow into Canada. With the dikes in Saint Vincent holding, and the water levels dropping in East Grand Forks, state officials say they've had a few