May 1, 1997 - Some residents of East Grand Forks might have to find new places to live after the flood. City officials say homes in the Griggs and Sherlock parks neighborhoods of the city are so severly damaged, residents will probably have to rebuild elsewhere. Federal regulations state homes in a floodplain damaged beyond more than 50 percent of their assessed value cannot be rebuilt. Dick Grassel represents those neighborhoods on the city council. Dick Grassel is a member of the East Grand Forks City Council. Residents of the Griggs and Sherlock parks neighborhoods will meet with city off
May 1, 1997 - In the UK the Labour Party is surging toward a landslide election victory that would restore it to power for the first time in a generation and make 43-year-old Tony Blair the youngest British prime minister in 185 years. Bob Striker is a Minneapolis attorney who had a brush with Tony Blair back in 1986.
April 28, 1997 - In any play or film, dialect is crucial to establishing time and place. The Park Square Theater in St. Paul is putting on a production of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan." The play skewers 19th century England's high society, and champions its outcasts. Wilde is known for his brilliant dialogue, and a dialect coach must be hired to help the actors with their lines.
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 23, 1997 - The House Budget committee takes up the flood relief bill tomorrow. In Grand Forks yesterday, President Clinton expressed confidence that Congress would approve the extra 200-million he's requesting for aid to Minnesota and the Dakotas. That would bring the total federal package to 488-million dollars for the area. Governor Carlson, and State emergency director Jim Franklin head to Washington to lobby for the aid. 5th District Minnesota Congressman Martin Sabo is Minnesota's only member of the Appropriations committee. He expects other members will approve Clinton's request. Fifth District Congressman Martin Sabo, Minnesota's representative on the House Appropriations Committee.
April 23, 1997 - Two weeks ago, we brought you the story of Harwood, North Dakota, a town of 6-hundred near Fargo. They built a dike around their entire town. About two-thirds of the residents left, and the rest stayed behind to wait out the waters. Now Harwood is opening some of its empty homes to Grand Forks flood victims. Janet Mack is answering phones at the flood center in Harwood, and trying to match refugees with housing: Janet Mack of Harwood, North Dakota. Sun 28-MAY 19:47:24 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
April 17, 1997 - There is a total ban on water use in Moorhead from I-94 to 32nd Avenue South and from 8th Street to the river. Also, residents of the Horn Park and Woodlawn Park neighborhoods are to be on standby for possible evacuation. Governor Carlson has declared tomorrow as "Flood Volunteer Appreciation Day" to recognize those who have helped to fight the floods. Federal flood relief officials are working throughout Minnesota to help flood victims apply for federal disaster aid. FEMA (FEE'-muh) says it's using a toll-free hotline instead of mobile flood relief centers this year, meaning flood victims can apply over the telephone. And evacuations are underway, according to Kris Eide , operations chief at the state's office of Emergency Management.
April 16, 1997 - MPR’s John Rabe talks with poet/writer Bill Holm about stoicism and exhaustion of Midwesterners during regional floods.
April 16, 1997 - When the deformed frogs were first discovered by Minnesota schoolchildren in 1995, scientists hoped they might find the cause in a matter of months. But as more frogs were found, and the frogs attracted national and even international attention, the Environmental Protection Agency got involved. Now experts say it make take three to five years to find out what caused the deformities. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure is at an EPA conference on the frogs, in Shenendoah National Park in Virginia.
April 11, 1997 - It's a good bet residents up along the Red River Valley have been saying to each other all winter "How About that Weather?" We've almost lost track of the number of blizzards, and now the floodwaters have come. The Clay County Historical Society must have had some notion what was coming, because it had the foresight to organize an exhibit that opened in February called "How About that Weather?" Mark Peihl is the archivist. Mark Peihl (PEEL) is archivist for the Clay County Historical Society. The "How About that Weather?" exhibit is up for a year. You can see what the flooding looks like in Fargo-Moorhead from our website ... www.mpr.org. You can also see what the flood of 1897 did to the area. Sun 28-MAY 19:58:53 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001