News Cut: April 1, 2009 Archive

Ely announces bid for 2016 Olympics

Posted at 8:58 AM on April 1, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (7 Comments)
Filed under: Marketing and advertising

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Update from Riverview Circle

Posted at 3:18 PM on April 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Disasters, Floods

This update from Riverview Circle in Moorhead by way of Donna Morse:

Wanted to give you a bit of an update as to what is happening here since you left...

The water continue to go down and it is now off of our sandbag walls. Todd has pulled the pumps that were pumping the water from behind the sandbags back into the river. It's still really quite around here and very little traffic. Occasionally we see an military, police, city, or fire vehicle pass, yet other than that, traffic is next to none. They have lifted the evacuation ban on this area this morning so I'm sure we will begin to see more movement. Sad to say, I heard this morning that there were looters in this area last night. Guess they didn't get away with anything and are being tracked down. Was hoping we weren't going to see any of that, yet if it's limited to this once that will be great!

Other than that, we continue to keep the basement dry. Coming home from work on Monday, I found that Todd couldn't take the mess any longer and had the kitchen and living room back to somewhat normal. He even got the garage cleaned up enough for the car to be put in. We are both hoping to get back to a routine. I started cleaning and wiping things down...can only take dirty for so long...guess it's 2 weeks!

Again, thanks for covering our story, Bob. I truly appreciated working with you and having a documented piece of history is a great bonus. Please make sure to come back for a visit (or move here). ..I know the Brummers and Johnson's feel the same. You are a great reporter and truly brought our story to life for so many that read it. Those that meet you and work with you are blessed for it!

Hugs to you...Donna

Meanwhile, John Brummer reported (yesterday, but I missed the email because I was out) that the water is off his sandbags now, too. He celebrated with his granddaughter, Addie.

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Photographing the Red River water levels

Posted at 8:15 PM on April 1, 2009 by Julia Schrenkler (0 Comments)

What does it take to imagine the sheer volume and height of the Red River floodwaters? Earlier Than Tibbetts posted what the river and flood plain look like from above. Our videos and photo slideshows show multiple angles to the story; the people, the worry, the struggle, the affect of the water on the residents and volunteers.

Beyond those images, I keep returning to a seemingly simple photo posted on redriver.gather.com by contributor Samantha H. It doesn't look like much, until you register that this is water under - or more accurately, reaching the bottom of - a bridge.

Her caption holds the contrast between flood fighting and normal living. She took it on March 28th, 2009 "[...] at the memorial bridge that separates Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN. The river runs right underneath. The water is right up to the bridge. We went biking way underneath this bridge all last summer." The underpass of this bridge went from a place she biked to a place buried by water...perhaps hard to imagine or even understand to those of us removed from the flooding.

Bob often calls for your photos, and this situation is no different. How do you demonstrate the water level and how this event affects your life? What will you notice during the coming weeks and cleanup? We're interested in the things you see in the places we might not necessarily look. You're welcome to share your photos with MPR and help us understand and cover this story.

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