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(WCCO) WCCO-TV reporters Bill Hudson, Liz Collin and Heather Brown are covering the Red River Valley flooding and will be providing regular updates to WCCO.COM. Check back here to see the latest information.

March 31, 2009 -- 6:00 p.m.

You know the saying "If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion." I say when it comes in like a lion, it's going out like a grizzly!

That's how it seemed today throughout the Red River Valley, where Flood Fight '09 continues. But if you think a foot of wind-driven snow and whiteout conditions was a big deal here, think again. Residents of Fargo-Moorhead welcome challenges.

Photographer Bob Hernandez and I drove to south Fargo to check on a vast network of diesel powered pumps. Because the entire city now sits like a cereal bowl, with no drainage into the river, all the storm water runoff and snowmelt has to be pumped over the temporary dikes and into the Red River.

The problem is the people who normally fuel and monitor the pumps are the same folk who drive the city's snowplows. So the National Guard is pitching in - fueling the tanks, checking oil levels and making sure the pumps keep running 24 hours a day.

It's just one more example of the teamwork which has made an epic and daunting task, winnable!

Bill Hudson

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March 31, 2009 -- 9 a.m.

I'm a Minnesota boy. I've been through my share of March snowstorms, dashing hopes of an early spring. But I just looked at the calendar and it says "March 31st." Really? Tell that to folks here in the Fargo Moorhead area who are growing increasingly weary of weeks of preparing for and fighting the flood.

Now this. We received about 6 inches of snow on Monday before it quit and appeared to be a beautiful and placid night as I was doing my 10 p.m. live report from Moorhead. When I grabbed my boots and headed to the parking lot this morning, Wham! Another blizzard had roared in.

I'm now at the morning briefing at Fargo city hall and listening to Mike Hudson (no relation) of the National Weather Service talk about the likelihood of up to 18 inches of snow just south of here.

That's bad for several reasons. First, it takes public works workers off their duty manning and fueling all the emergency pumps stationed up and down the dikes. They are needed to operate the city's fleet of snowplows.

Secondly, depending on the water content in the snow, it will no doubt assure a second crest sometime in the coming days. At this point, Hudson says it looks like that secondary crest would occur sometime mid-April and reach a level of around 37 feet. That's well below the earlier crest of 40.82 feet but makes residents here assured their weariness won't go away for awhile!

Bill Hudson

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March 31, 2009 -- 8:10 a.m.

I'm the kind of guy who likes to build things, especially things out of wood. That's perhaps why I was so impressed with the work of Moorhead resident Brian Witthoeft, who lives along the Red River. His home is one of the many up here threatened by the Red's 40.82' crest on Saturday.

Photographer Bob Hernandez and I stopped by the south Moorhead neighborhood where Brian lives to check out the water damage. We didn't know it at the time, but in the backyard of the Witthoeft home is a levy, the likes of which I've never seen. It is a massive wall of wood built about 8' high. The wall structure spans the entire width of Brian's house and wraps around both sides. He told us it took he and a team of volunteers about a week to build.

I was most impressed by the integrity of the wall. It's built of 2x6 studs and sheathed with oriented strandboard. On the outside of the wall, plastic sheeting keeps it protected from the water. Because of the tremendous pressure and forces the floodwater puts on the wall, Brian braced it against the house with 2x12 stringers. Why so strong? Simple -- the water still covers the wall to a height of about 5'. That's down about 2' from Saturday's crest.

Wow! When I asked him how well it's working he simply smiled and said, "The only mud in the house is from the boots on the carpet." Sadly, his neighbor to the north lost the flood fight and was forced to abandon his home.

I guess it just proves the ingenuity of the handyman's mind. I'd like to have Brian as a neighbor! I think we'd get along just fine!

Even though the National Weather Service said the river appeared to be receding, it was still more than 20 feet above flood stage this morning at 39.44' and it's expected to remain that way for days, testing the integrity of dikes that have already suffered some breaches.

Bill Hudson

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March 30, 2009 -- 5:25 p.m.

What's next? The snowflakes have begun falling here in Fargo-Moorhead and predictions are we're in for a heckuva spring blizzard. The weather service is predicting anywhere from 8 to 14 inches of heavy, wet snow here in the Red River valley.

Spring's fury is going to test the patience of residents and flood fighters once again! Up and down both sides of the Red River, I am amazed at their resilience. Nobody is complaining or throwing in the towel. Instead, it's like they're saying "there's nothing we can't do." Volunteers are still flocking to sandbag stations and pitching in.

That's in ample evidence at the FargoDome, where today at noon the volunteer sandbagging operation was finally closed down. Right up to the end, hundreds of volunteers were there, folding, filling, tying and tossing sandbags onto pallets. How many bags did those volunteers produce? Can you believe they doubled the earlier goal of 1.5 million sandbags? That's the number Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said would be needed when this fight began.

Today, he proudly proclaimed that young and old, local residents and far away strangers, volunteered to produce an incredible 3 million sandbags over the past 10 days!

One woman told me she feels good knowing that her hard work is lodged in a levy somewhere along the Red River.

I'm in awe of their spirit of cooperation and civic duty! What a lesson to the rest of the world about what can be accomplished when people of all backgrounds and walks of life work together. Great job to everyone!

Bill Hudson

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March 30, 2009 -- 7:00 a.m.

After a week of watching this fight from afar, keeping close tabs on flood web sites, listening to on-line radio and watching colleagues Heather Brown and Liz Collin reporting live from "sandbag central" and the flooded front lines of the Red River, it's my turn in the rotation. Photographer Bob Hernandez and I drove up last evening and will continue capturing the stories of how the hard working folks of Fargo and Moorhead are locked in the battle of a lifetime!

We arrived just as daylight was fading over this valley, but you could still see the ravages of the nearly 41 feet of river water. Anyone who's been to this part of the Midwest knows how flat the terrain is. It's a fertile landscape of rich, black earth -- the natural combination that makes it ideal for farming sugar beets. But that flatness also is a curse come springtime, when the Red and the Buffalo and the Wild Rice Rivers drain hundreds of miles of watershed and send that water north to the Hudson Bay.

Bob and I were here back in 1997, when the Red River spared this area but took a terrific toll on the residents downstream in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. Perhaps it's the indelible memories of the submerged neighborhoods and devastated downtowns which provide some of the energy to fuel the thousands upon thousands of volunteers who've worked tirelessly to save these communities.

It's palpable, you can feel the collective spirit in the people here who came together on Sunday for an ecumenical prayer service. This weekend, many of their prayers were answered when the Red reached a crest of 40.82 feet and below the predicted level of 42 to 43 feet. Those levels may have brought similar scenes of destruction much like neighborhoods in Grand Forks experienced 12 years ago!

While the bulk of the area has been spared, there are a number of homes in certain neighborhoods under water. Moorhead is reporting they've lost at least five homes in a low lying part of the city near south 40th Street. I think one of those homes is owned by the father of my Coon Rapids neighbors, Linda and Fred Soucie. Fred was telling me on Saturday that after a week of sandbagging and monitoring the pumps, the home was lost to the fight. I feel badly for them and all those who won't be going home for a long, long time!

But the good news is that the river continues its slow retrench! This morning it stands at 39.44 feet and falling. Although it will be many days before it's fully contained and back flowing placidly inside its natural clay banks. Mayor Dennis Walaker said they will breathe easier when it drops about another foot and a half. Until then, the vigilance will stay extremely high as crews keep a 24-hour watch for any signs of leaks and breaches.

So I guess you can say there is a "cautious optimism" flowing through this area, as residents and city officials hope and pray for the best. After watching their fight last week, they deserve nothing less!

Bill Hudson

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March 29, 2009 -- 12:35 p.m.

The river sure is dropping off.

We are in the Wild Rice area just south of Fargo where the Wild Rice and Red Rivers meet. We were here on Wednesday when the water was climbing about an inch an hour for 24 hours ... now it's dropped off by eight inches just since last night.

We were back talking to Mike Wieser this morning. His home looks like a fortress ... 15,000 sandbags surround it. We talked to his friend on Wednesday who was manning one of the five pumps in the yard at that time.

Today, things are looking good. Mike doesn't want to say he has won this flood fight yet. There is about two inches of water in his basement and a crack in the ceiling where water is coming in.
He is happy that things look to be dropping but as we saw this morning, any levee can crack in just a second and change everything.

We will give you a look at all of it at 10.

We are hitting the road back to Twin Cities in a little bit and reporter phenom Bill Hudson will be here to take over.

It's been a privilege to be here to cover this story, reporting on the fight against the Red. If there's just one thing to take away here it's that people coming together sure can make a big difference.

Fight on guys ... Fight on.

Liz Collin

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March 29, 2009 -- 8:10 a.m.

Fargo's Mayor Dennis Walaker began the press briefing this morning by saying, "Are we ready to say there's a crest? Probably."

Liz Collin

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March 29, 2009 -- 7:10 a.m.

After a few hours of quiet here in Fargo-Moorhead, a rough wake up call this morning.

The permanent dike that was protecting Oak Grove Lutheran School in the north Fargo area failed. The failure happened about 1:30 this morning. A city engineer on the scene told me some guardsmen here noticed some bubbling from the dike when they were patrolling the area for leaks overnight. We were on scene two hours ago and a city engineer told me it's likely the school is lost after the water rushed in ... about 4 feet in just 10 minutes, he said.

Here's the good news ... the secondary dike volunteers made in the last week probably saved the neighborhood. Fargo asked for a voluntary evacuation when it happened that people plug their drains and leave if they wanted. However, the dike is patched up again.

So, it just shows the danger is still here even though we are hearing about these dropping water levels.

We will have more on this story on TV at 10 a.m.

Liz Collin

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March 28, 2009 -- 11:15 p.m.

It was a quieter today with that piece of good news about the river level dropping. Good news goes a long way here.

River at 40.44 feet right now down from 40.82 feet from yesterday so it's been falling all day.

Tomorrow we are planning to meet up with the Coast Guard and hear about their efforts in the Red River Valley. There have been more than 90 rescues by the Coast Guard here.

We will be on with Esme Murphy Sunday morning at 10 with another live report from here. See you then -- good night!

Liz Collin

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March 29, 2009 -- 4:30 p.m.

It's been a day of that's been pretty good in the Red River Valley.

The river right now 40.64, down about three tenths of an inch from the morning. Fargo city leaders are not ready to say the water will go down for good but of course say this is good news.

On the ground -- the work continues. If you can believe it there are 35 miles of dikes just in Fargo alone.

You can see our aerial tour of the area right now on wcco.com.

Tonight we will be on a little late due to basketball but we will be here live with the latest information.

Liz Collin

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March 28, 2009 -- 12:37 p.m.

We are up in Sky 4 right now taking a look at the rising red. Things are looking stable now not much movement in the river waters.

Mike Augustyniak, our morning weather guy, is sitting right next to me. His impression of the river so far: He doesn't think we've seen the worst he thinks it's not as wide as he thought it might be.





Liz Collin

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March 28, 2009 -- 10:40 a.m.

So this could be a glimmer of good news ... river now shows signs of leveling off.

Fargo's Emergency Mgmt. Director says they are not out of the woods yet since these forecasts just keep changing but he says it is possible the Red stays below 42 feet.

Liz Collin

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March 28, 2009 -- 9:30 a.m.

Washington certainly is watching. President Obama had a lot to say about the great work going on in the Fargo-Moorhead area in his weekly address this morning. We have clips here on wcco.com. The President said there will be federal help on the way.

Overnight, the river dropped about a tenth of an inch... that's right dropped. The cold weather has helped so has the snow in slowing the flow. The meeting with Fargo officials this morning was again filled with jokes and I've been taking that as a positive sign. Crest expected now at 42 feet Sunday afternoon.

They have shut down all major sandbagging operations here, that includes the Fargodome. They are storing about 250,000 bags there to keep them warm if they need them.

About 400 volunteers from the Red Cross from across the country are here and they announced this morning they can shelter 30,000 people for a week if it would come to that. So far, of course nothing near that... A few thousand evacuated on both sides of the river.

We are headed up to get a view from Sky 4 and we will have that video on our website a little while later this afternoon.

Thanks for reading!

Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 11:33 p.m.

Officials are now expecting the river to crest at nearly 42 feet Sunday afternoon.

Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 9:30 p.m.

So we are wrapping up this Friday and I wanted to share these pics the talented Aaron Goodyear has taken through this week.



We are planning to go up in the chopper tomorrow. Chris Cruz and I are headed up in the air. Of course, it will be a crucial day as we approaching that crest about noon.



We will be bringing you video online right here thru the weekend and I will be keeping up the blog so please keep following what's going on here in the Red River Valley.



Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 6 p.m.

We are still in Moorhead tonight and just wrapped up a one-on-one interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar. I asked her if she thinks Moorhead was ready for this. You will hear what she has to say in our story on the late news tonight after basketball.

We've been talking to some business owners in Moorhead tonight. Many businesses are closed after city leaders told them it would be best for non-essential businesses to stay locked up. However, we visited the Ace Hardware where business has never been better. They have sold 300 drain plugs in five days and normally sell 50 a year. Bad news though... the Ace ran out!

Fargo public schools have decided to close for all of next week. They are in it for the long haul here. 

Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 2:30 p.m.

We are here at Clay County Courthouse listening to Gov. Pawlenty and Sen. Klobuchar weigh in on the flood fight.

They are saying here in Moorhead the dikes are looking good. They are built up to 43 feet and holding strong.

A couple of Moorhead city leaders say they flew over the area today and the damage isn't as bad as what they saw in '97, even though there is more water now. 

Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 2:00 p.m.

These are the files in stacked in the Clay County Courthouse that are being stacked into a semi right now taken to higher ground.



Gov. Pawlenty and Sen. Klobuchar getting ready to speak at Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead.



Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 11:00 a.m.

Some big evacuations underway in both Fargo and Moorhead.

We caught up with some guys who are from Park Rapids and wrestlers at Concordia College. They thought their house would be safe but told now they need to get out today.

They spent several hours in the middle of the night sandbagging and moving furniture out of the basement. I took a picture of these guys just before they left.


Liz Collin

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March 27, 2009 -- 9:21 a.m.

The Red River is the highest it has ever been before, at about 40.5 feet right now and we are another 27 hours away from that projected crest of up to 43 feet.

There's been a lot of concern about a leak in a levee in Fargo but leaders say it is nothing dire at this point.

I'll tell you it's impossible to sleep with all this going on. I know some people have basically been up for three days straight and it will likely be several more before anyone is able to get some rest.

We started the day getting the latest on what's happening here. Now, two neighborhoods in Fargo are under mandatory evacuations. The mayor also asked all "non-essential" businesses to close their doors. School district officials here are already talking about calling off classes all next week.

They have bagged three million sandbags in six days.

Travel is tricky today. All major roads are closed so crews can have emergency access to finish their flood efforts.

We are in Moorhead right now and at noon today you'll hear from a girl who had to leave Concordia College and head home to Montevideo. The campus is now closed and could be for some time.

Liz Collin

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March 26, 2009 -- 10:30 p.m.

It's been a long day. It started with water and air rescues and ended with mandatory evacuations in parts of Fargo and Moorhead. They have even closed Concordia College now and asked students to try to get off campus by tomorrow.

This 43 feet projection has been devastating to all these people. They were preparing for 40 then 41 now 43. In Fargo, again they are trying to add a foot to of bags to dikes and will work thru the night trying to do it. To make things worse, the crest could last up to seven days.

They have evacuated four of Fargo's nursing homes and tonight they are taking patients out of MeritCare in Fargo.

All major roads in Fargo are supposed to be closed to traffic unless you are helping with the bagging operation.

This morning I spoke with Randy and Becky Haas who just moved into their Oxbow home in January. It was their dream home but they had to leave it when water started pouring in. There are some pictures here of their rescue by the Coast Guard. (Photos by Scott Olson/Getty Images.)





Watch for our reports Friday. Say a prayer for these folks.

Liz Collin

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March 26, 2009 -- 6:20 p.m.

There is now an emergency shelter for animals set up at the fairgrounds in Fargo. About 25 pets are there now.



Liz Collin

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March 26, 2009 -- 5:35 p.m.

Some more bad news from the Red River Valley tonight. The crest is still expected on Saturday around noon but between 41-42 feet and for the first time we heard the National Weather Service say it could crest as high as 43 feet. The crest is supposed to last three to seven days.

They are evacuating the western parts of Moorhead right now. As many as 300 homes. The mayor said people have until midnight to get out "or be prepared to stay for weeks." We are on our way to check this out.

Liz Collin

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March 26, 2009 -- 4:15 p.m.

We are just getting ready for our 5pm live shot. Aaron is hard at it editing the story with some amazing rescues that were made just south of Fargo this morning.

We've been getting conflicting information on the scene about just how many chopper rescues there were just today but it could be as many as nine people who were pulled to safety from their roofs.

Parts of Moorhead are now being asked to evacuate. Some rural areas around Fargo have too. Two nursing homes in Fargo are also evacuating residents tonight. In that case, it's not because of the flood risk at those buildings but getting those people emergency services if they need it.

See you on TV at 5!

Liz Collin

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March 26, 2009 -- 1:00 p.m.

A lot of rescues today. We've been watching the Coast Guard chopper fly around the Briarwood area for the last couple of hours. Many on air boats as well

Several housing developments in some towns just south of Fargo are being evacuated. They are building up dikes that will eventually block off roads to homes and it will be that way for a few days.

Fargo itself has been divided into seven sections in case there are evacuations. They central part of the city is the safest they say because it is the highest.

Many businesses are closed and it's not so much about the threat of water, but they want employees to be able to help sandbag in this final push for the next couple of days.

Liz Collin

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March 26, 2009 -- 10:00 a.m.

We are off on this Thursday to continue our coverage in the Red River Valley and it's already been a busy morning.

Right now the Red is at 38.58 feet. It's expected to be 40 feet Friday and 41 at crest on Saturday. They have filled 2.5 million sandbags in the last five days. Wow!

We went over to the Oxbow area this morning and watched a couple of air boats bring people to safety. They rescued a total of 46 people yesterday and had another 11 calls they were getting to today. You'll see those rescues tonight at 5 p.m.

They have set up an emergency shelter for pets at the fairgrounds and there's a group from the Twin Cities on their way here to help organize it.

Liz Collin

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March 25, 2009 -- 10:30 p.m.

We are headed off to find a couple of rooms for the night and I must say rooms are filling up fast in Fargo.

Tomorrow we should hear more about evacuation plans they are putting in places around Fargo. These are just tentative plans if sandbag levees breach and don't hold back the water. We are also hoping to meet up with the humane society who is taking in pets people are dropping off.

I just heard on the radio they served more than 3,000 meals today to volunteers filling sandbags. Wow!

The effort has been incredible. They have cancelled school classes in Fargo now for the rest of the week and I'm sure the Fargodome will be filled with students helping out.

We will see you tomorrow. Thanks for watching!

Liz Collin

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March 25, 2009 -- 6:50 p.m.

We've been in Fargo for just a few hours now. Photojournalist Aaron Goodyear made the ride with me. We, like so many, have been watching coverage of the Red River flooding on TV and reading about it online and in newspapers. However, it has been incredible to see this in person.

First, we traveled just south of Fargo to Wild Rice and saw several homes surrounded by water. Doug Desotel had a lot of help filling bags for days but he's already lost a camper and a shed. He just hopes the home isn't next. Desotel says in his area it is much worse than '97. The water has been rushing in. In fact, in just three hours he says the water has risen five inches. You will hear more from him at 10pm tonight.

Next, we were off to the Fargodome where hundreds of people are still filling sandbags. As Heather has been reporting today they need a half million more bags now that the crest is expected to be 41 feet. Chiropractors are even here giving some free work to some very grateful people.

The Fargo City Commission met tonight and they are going over evacuation plans if it comes to that. We should know more about that tomorrow. They are working with the Red Cross to find safe locations out of the flood zone. Local leaders did say though that vulnerable adults and those with physical disabilities should start thinking about those evacuation plans now.

See you soon!

Liz Collin

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March 25, 2009 -- 5:50 p.m.

The people of the Fargo area continue to amaze me. When Mayor Walaker tells them the Red River will go higher than it's ever gone before, they simply take it up a notch higher than the furious pace they've kept for almost a week. No complaints out here from the volunteers on the ground who are toughing it out in some pretty terrible conditions.

Homeowner Sandy Libel said, "I think we're at the point where we're like bring it on. We live in Fargo. We can't expect anything but snow and happy faces."

This snow isn't doing anyone any favors. It's cold and the wind is whipping in the people's faces as they carry and fill the bags. (Now that they have to get half a million bags out in the next 24 hours, they've moved some of the actual bagging to the streets.)

I guess they don't have a choice. Most of these people know what could happen. But the fact that they're doing it with smiles is pretty awesome. Today, the Coast Guard and the Valley River Rescue in Oxbow could not have been more helpful.

Often (this should not be a shocker), we, the media, are not welcomed with open arms. It's hard to tell if they feel they need us to tell their stories here or if all of us are so spread apart throughout the area, we aren't overwhelming.

I do worry about this area over the next few days. This morning, we heard relief and optimism. The officials thought it would all be OK. They could handle a 39 foot crest. But, when the 41 number came down this afternoon, it was as if someone had sucked all of the life out of the room. They continued to give off confidence... It was just they knew they have a lot of hard work ahead of them over the next 24 hours.

Bob is finishing up our 6pm story right now. We're headed home after this because I have to go to one of my best friend's wedding this weekend down south. I leave early tomorrow morning from Minneapolis. I don't want to leave because there's lots more to tell. But, I leave these stories in the very capable hands of Liz Collin and Aaron Goodyear. Pete is sticking around too.

Thanks for reading, folks. I'll be thinking of and praying for all these good people up here.



Heather Brown

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March 25, 2009 -- 2:10 p.m.

We just got off the Valley Water Rescue boat in Oxbow, a small town just about 10 miles. We saw about a half-dozen homes with water lapping up against their dikes. It doesn't look good in this spot because the river will continue to rise.

So far, the Coast Guard and the Cass County Valley Water Rescue have rescued almost 2 dozen people who've called for help. They can't get out of their homes because the homes are surrounded by water - strong, cold, hip-high water.

There is a new somber tone here. This morning, the NWS revised their forecast again to the upper edge of 41 feet on Saturday. That is above what happened here in 97.

The big challenge now will be to get all of the sandbags dikes that were built to 42 feet up to 43 feet. That will require 500,000 sandbags and tons of volunteers. The volunteer effort we thought would end today will now continue through the week.

This will not be easy. This will be hard. That's going back over all the sandbags they've already placed. It's cold and wet here which makes it more difficult to place the bags. It also makes it more difficult for the trucks delivering the sandbags too.

We're on the road back to Fargo. The mayor just said he's back to "cautiously optimistic" from "optimistic." He called this projection "unchartered territory." His tone was much different this afternoon from what we heard him say this morning.

That breath of relief they thought they had is gone.

Heather Brown

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March 25, 2009 -- 9:45 a.m.

Ugh! I'm saying this on behalf of the people of Fargo. We woke up this morning to about 4 inches of snow. I think the mayor of Moorhead put it best when he said, "What a revolting turn of events."

It's a pain for sandbagging because those bags need to be warm and malleable enough to fit together. They also need to have a smooth place to lie on the ground. Snow makes that tough, obviously. It also makes it tough to get around safely and quickly -- two very important things when you're racing the clock.

But, it's not all bad. Tom Mahoney, Fargo's deputy mayor, just told me overall he's happy about the snow because it slows the river down. Good news!

We just left the Fargo flood meeting at City Hall. Here are some of the highlights:

NWS still thinks the river will crest here at 40 feet on Saturday.

Sandbagging and dike building are about 95 percent complete and the mayor wants it finished by the end of the day.

GREAT day yesterday with volunteers. They filled 500,000 sandbags. A huge accomplishment given they were afraid they couldn't get 250,000 done in one day. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU." That's a direct quote from everyone in the room. Right now, the river is at 34.71 feet.

Once the diking is finished, engineers will go out and check every single one. That should start sometime this afternoon.

Evacuation plans for Fargo will be released tomorrow. These are just precautionary. They don't expect to have to use them, but better safe than sorry.

We're going to head over to an area with some sandbaggers and then try to get near a spot that already has some flooding. Apparently, one house went under last night, but it's really hard to get to. I hear Dave Price of the CBS Early Show got a boat. Fancypants.

We'll have a phoner on the noon show. See you in a few.

Heather Brown

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March 24, 2009 -- 10:05 p.m.

It looks like the outside sandbaggers have called it a night. We can't find them anywhere. It's probably a pretty good idea because it's dark and rainy out here. That makes it muddy and slippery and with flatbeds full of sandbags driving through the neighborhoods, it would be easy for someone to get hurt.

We sent our 10pm story back via satellite around 9:45. It was a short recap of what happened here today. I'd encourage you to watch the 5pm or 6pm story to get a better sense of the homeowners and volunteers who are directly impacted by the possibility of a flood.

I hope the mayor is right to be optimistic. Earlier today, we talked about changes that have made here in Fargo since the '97 floods. He told me about their flood plan that tells them exactly what to do and when. It's been helpful this time in deciding where to dike and when to start up the pumps. He told me how the city bought up homes at the 32-36 flood level and bulked up those areas. They also put in a permanent dike near the water plant and upgraded the storm water pumping.

But he also said not enough has been done in Fargo to protect the city from these types of floods. He told me not a lot of people like it when he says this, but he believes Wahpeton and Grand Forks got more money and attention post-'97 floods that allowed them to make more necessary, all-encompassing changes. He also said he looks forward to learning more about a newly commissioned Army Corps of Engineers study that will look at the more comprehensive changes needed in Fargo's overall flood plan.

Now might not be the best time to tackle this larger story because anyone who can answer the questions right now are literally trying to prevent damage from a flood. But, I would like to follow-up when the time is right, so please let me know what you think.

I checked the afternoon numbers for this blog and it looks like it's gotten almost 2000 hits today. Thanks for reading. I hope it helps those people who wish they could be here, but can't. I also hope it helps folks who have loved ones here and want to know if they'll be OK. And thanks for writing in. I only got one nasty email that I'd like to share because it hurt a little, even though I know it shouldn't.

Ryan wrote to me.

Heather,

How about flexing your muscles and pitching in up in Fargo with some sandbagging? What purpose for good of mankind does "blogging" serve when disaster is close at hand?

Let's make it easy. Spend as much time today sandbagging as you do on makeup, nails and hair and the Fargo community will be well served by your presence.

Ryan
White Bear

Ouch! I think if Ryan were to watch any of my stories out here from the floods, he'd very quickly realize how much time I spend on my hair, nails and make-up!

Sleep well everyone. I'll catch up with you in the morning.

Heather Brown

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March 24, 2009 -- 7:35 p.m.

It's started to drizzle again. That's not something we like to see. At least it's not the downpour that the folks along the Red River saw over the weekend.

It was another good day here. Tons of volunteers... and, for the most part, very little rain. Officials here are keeping an eye on the weather forecast to see when this will turn into snow. Fluffy snow will be better than wet, sloppy snow.

It seems as though the sandbag operations have moved a little south of town. Throughout the day, some of the volunteer crews in the field have been confused on where they are supposed to go.

There's still a big sign asking for overnight volunteers to fill sandbags at the Fargodome. Though sandbagging operations were initially supposed to end tonight, they'll continue on through tomorrow and maybe Thursday.

We're grabbing a quick dinner now and then we'll head south to check out the nighttime sandbaggers. We're shooting a look-live (that's where we tape video of me walking around near the sandbaggers in the dark around 8:30, send it back via the satellite truck so it can air it at 10.)

For a fleeting moment, there was a chance I was going to be on the CBS Early Show tomorrow morning. No more. Apparently, they are bringing in the big guns for this one. Dave Price is on his way here. Big Dave Price fans may know this will be his second time in Fargo in 3 weeks. He was up here for the last snowstorm.

And, I have an apology to make. In my noon live shot, I mistakenly said Wahpeton was in South Dakota. Several of you kindly corrected me. My bad completely. I don't know why I said that. I knew it was in North Dakota. We stayed there last night! So, I'm sorry. I really hate those silly mistakes.

I'll check in again after we check in with sandbaggers.

Heather Brown

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March 24, 2009 -- 2:13 p.m.

Yep, the Fargodome was rocking. And not with the rodeo that was apparently scheduled to be there. Nope, they had about 1,000 kids on the floor shoveling, bagging, tying and throwing 35-pound bags on to huge trucks that will head into town. When we left, you could hear Rihanna's Disturbia being pumped through the sound system.

These were a lot of high schoolers and even some 8th graders. They were having a grand old time chatting with their pals while tossing the bags down the row.

We met some kids from Deer Park who cancelled their track meet to be in Fargo. They all admitted sandbagging was a better workout. We met an 8th grader from North Fargo who said if she wasn't here, her friends' homes might be underwater. We met a teacher who cancelled her test today because she thought the kids would learn more at the Fargodome. You'll meet all of these people tonight at 5 and 6.

It was pretty sandy in the Fargodome. In fact, when I walked inside, I was sneezing a bit because all of the sand was swirling around in the air. But, no one there really cared ... or at least told me they did.

We then went into a neighborhood where all of these sandbags were headed. It was one of the fancier neighborhoods where the big trucks couldn't reach, so hundreds of kids made a line from the driveway to the bank of the river to protect the homes by hand. One of the grateful residents brought out her boombox to give everyone a little something to move to.

Catch us on Don's radio show this afternoon between 4 and 430. We're off to write the 5 and 6 stories.

Heather Brown

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March 24, 2009 -- 12:20 p.m.

Well, kids, it's a good day to be a student in Fargo ... If you like carrying 35-pound bags of sand with your friends. Classes for NDSU, the high school and some junior high schools are cancelled so they can sandbag all over town.

Just had a great talk with Dennis Walaker, the mayor of Fargo. I had watched him on TV this morning talking about the volunteers. He had a great line, "If you're worried about our youth, come to Fargo."

I'm a sucker for a good line and he delivered another one as I walked in the door.

"I'm wavering between cautiously optimistic and optimistic."

That's truly a good line because things didn't look anywhere close to that a few days ago.

He said they had a great day Monday. Less rain than expected and more volunteers than expected. They went through about 400,000 sandbags when they thought their daily max was 250,000.

He was also quite pleased with the reports coming out Breckenridge and Wahpeton. While the forecasters won't say it yet, Walaker said that's good news for them. He said their crest coming in 2 feet lower than predicted there usually means their crest will come in lower too.

I'm not a scientist so I can't be sure, but I will say the Mayor was happy with the crests of his neighbors to the south.

I don't know what happened, but somehow it got nice and sunny here ... some might even say warm. (I wouldn't.) Well, that's supposed to change. It's supposed to turn cold this week. That's good because it slows the river for now. That's bad because it hurts the sandbags. That's why the volunteers are furiously bagging ... to finish before the cold because they'll need them good to go when it warms up again.

Bob and I are headed into the Fargodome right now. Its Sandbagging Central and from what I hear quite the party. I'm also a sucker for a good party. I'll take some pictures inside.

Oh yeah ... one last weird thing. The ND governor had to stay in Fargo last night because there was a blizzard in Bismarck. Seriously?

Heather Brown

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March 24, 2009 -- 10:10 a.m.

Apparently, lots of you were getting your groove on last night, because my anti-rain dance plea worked. Looks like Breckenridge and Wahpeton have dodged the bullet this year on the floods.

The latest crest number is 18 feet. Trust me when I say that people here are collectively breathing a huge sigh of relief at the number 18. It's 1.4 feet less than 1997 and 2 feet less that what forecasters were predicting Monday. Let's say it again folks, phew.

Here's what happened according to Jeff Krueger, the vice-mayor of Breckenridge.

1) Lots of the ice they were worried about pushed out. It melted enough and picked up enough flow to push it north up the river. There's now better flow along the Red down here.
2) The water they were worried about to the east has started to flow too. Some of the ditches opened up and took in that water.
3) RAIN! They had projected 1/2 inch last night and got 2/10 inch.

Good work people!

They will continue to sandbag here as a precaution. The 18 foot crest could last a few days. As Krueger said, "We want to have it in place so we can rest easy."

So, Bob, Pete and I are hitting the road to Fargo. As I punch away this blog entry on my blackberry, they are mapping out the route because lots of the roads around here are closed. We're heading north on 75, which Bob tells me goes right along the river, and the water is again creeping up near the road.

For those who were wondering (my mom), yes, I got my run in this morning ... a little 3 mile jaunt around a cute neighborhood in Wahpeton. It was in between some good morning television. I watched the weather reports on all four stations here and then the Fargo Flood meeting broadcasting live on WDAY. Who ever said we weren't fun?

Ok, just heard Pete crackle over the radio, "Well, so much for this." Detour in the road. We'll get there soon enough. Hopefully in time to meet up with Bill Kruskop, our chief photographer, who's taking video from the helicopter this morning over Fargo. He promised a big steak lunch this afternoon. Or I begged and he said no. I can't remember right now.

See you soon in Fargo!

Heather Brown

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March 23, 2009 -- 10:30 p.m.

I can't believe it myself but I just ate a bologna and butter sandwich from the nice volunteers here in Wilkin County. It was good. I was hungry. So were Bob and Pete. I made them skip dinner so I could go to the Emergency Management meeting. When I left, EOC folks were still arguing over how many volunteers they'll have tonight.

Lots of volunteers were filling bags until about 10. Apparently, there are still a few spots that need to be filled in along the river. They will be keeping this up through the week.

I didn't realize this, but the Corps says that when the river crests tomorrow, it will stay that was for 3 or 4 days. They'll have to continue to be vigilant until then.

I don't know if you had a chance to watch our 10pm story, but it was about a pretty cool woman named Chris Vedder. She lives along the river and has been through the floods before. She was out there sandbagging with the rest of them, busting her butt to save her neighbors' homes. She asked a good question: If the '97 floods were supposed to be the 500-year floods, then why are they happening 12 years later? I'm going to try to figure that out without DeRusha's help.

We're going to stay in Wahpeton tonight. Don't know where yet. We decided to stay here to check out happens in tomorrow morning's crest. If it's OK, then we'll probably head to Fargo.

And, I'd like to give out some props to Bridgette Bornstein. When she left WCCO, she bequeathed her flood boots to me. I was honored because she was kind of a flood queen. Those things came in super-handy today. I'll take a picture of them and send it to you tomorrow.

Sleep tight!

Heather Brown

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March 23, 2009 -- 7:36 p.m.

I'm in a meeting with all of the emergency ops folks here in Breckenridge City Hall. National Guard, city officials, fire departments, sheriff, etc...

Army Corps says they are staying ahead of the water, but barely. He said the levees being built right now are "ugly, ugly" but they're getting it done.

Big concern here is road closures. There's a lot of water on the roads and could be more tomorrow. EMS was concerned about having the right routes. Sheriff's dept is checking it out.

There's still more sandbagging to do, but not a lot of nighttime volunteers. Trying to figure out how to get it done in time with the volunteers they have tomorrow morning. Army Corps wishes the town would have started earlier.

One man just said, "We've got people who are unbelievable today. I've never seen people work that hard."

Heather Brown

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March 23, 2009 -- 7 p.m.

Ok, so you may have noticed I wasn't moving around much in my 5 p.m. live shot. It's because my boots got stuck in the mud as I was trying to walk. Oops.

The conditions here are pretty rough for the volunteers who've spent all day sandbagging. They're wet, cold, sore and covered in mud. Yes, I'm complaining for them, because they haven't complained one bit. They haven't had the time. And, frankly, they're not complainers. Lots of them have been through it before. They know what's at stake -- their homes and their neighbors' homes.

Rain is the enemy here. They got more than they expected last night and another round is expected tonight. It's that rain, rather than the snowmelt, that makes this a record flood year. If you could do an anti-rain dance tonight, I know the people here would appreciate it.

According to the town officials and residents I talked with, Breckenridge is better off flood-wise than it was 12 years ago. But it's still not great. Some of the levees that were built weren't kept up and some areas never had any levees built at all. That's where the sandbagging comes in. Volunteers are sandbagging in the spots where the Army Corps of Engineers can't reach.

The Head of the Corps' effort here told me today his crews and contractors can't get everywhere they need to here in Breckenridge because resources are tight all along the Red River. Yikes. They were about 75 percent done this afternoon and think they'll finish bulking up the levees in time for tomorrow's crest.

We are in a Pizza Hut right now trying to get our editing machine to work. It's not behaving very well. Bob thinks it might be cold.

The rain has started again. Ugh. But at least it's getting colder. That's good. We are headed to a 7 p.m. meeting to find out the town's plans for tonight. Sorry no stills yet. I'm at my technology max right now.

Oh, I just realized I tracked mud through the Pizza Hut. Thank you, nice Pizza Hut people, for letting us use your electrical outlet. 

Heather Brown

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March 23, 2009 -- 4:15 p.m.

Just made the switch from sneakers to flood boots. It was a necessary change give the amount of mud here in Breckenridge.

We are along the very start of the Red River where hundreds of high school kids are sandbagging as fast as they can. Not to be overly dramatic, but they are literally covered in mud head-to-toe racing against the clock. They stand in a long line and pass the bags from the road to the banks of the river. It's a slow, tedious process.

I just met a great woman named Chris Vedder. She is wearing flood pants and boots and a yellow cape covered in mud... even with smears on her face. She lives across the street and told me she's going to sandbag until she can't walk anymore. I have a feeling it's going to be awhile. She told me she has no other choice.

Ok... Gotta get ready for five. Bob took some still photos. We'll try to get those up soon.

Heather Brown

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March 23, 2009 -- 2:50 p.m.

OK. We are driving on 210 West with water encroaching on both sides of the road. It looks like we are a bridge driving over a lake.

About 80 percent of the roads around here are under water. Whoops... Take that back. We just went through parts of 210 covered with 6-10 inches of water.

Got my answer to the last questions I posed. It's no. Just got off the phone with Dennis Walaker, the mayor of Fargo. He said any flood mitigation efforts down in the Breckenridge area won't really affect them. They're just watching Breckenridge closely because Fargo usually crests 4 days later. He followed that up with a somewhat somber, "But nothing is normal this year."

Walaker is really worried about the potential for snow tomorrow. It'll help with the melting but wreak havoc on the sandbags. Like Bob just said, "It'll be like a blade of ice cutting into the bags."

Pete is there getting set up for the live shot along the river. I'm interested to see all of this for myself because I've only ever covered floods aftermath. I hope we don't have to do that this time.

Heading into Breckenridge right now. I'll update soon because, like Army Corps spokesperson Shannon Bauer told me, "Things change by the hour here." 

Heather Brown

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March 23, 2009 -- 2 p.m.

We are about an hour outside of Breckenridge. I've been on the phone with city officials there and they're feeling pretty confident that they're going to be OK.

Jeff Kruger, Breckenridge's vice-mayor, told me the river is at 16.5 and is expected to go to 18.5 by tomorrow morning. The Corps has been busy putting up earthen levees to 21 feet and tons of volunteers have been putting up sandbags to 20 feet. If they can get all of that into place, Kruger said, all of the homes should be spared.

Now, the 2 inches of rain that came in last night didn't help. Kruger said if that happens again tonight, "that'll cause us some extra headaches."

So... Does that mean more water will be headed up north toward Fargo? Does what happens down here make it worse for them? I'm working on those answers.

You know, I've only been here in Minnesota for a few years, so I missed the '97 floods. Fortunately, I have photographers Bob Hernandez and Pete Neuswanger -- two flood vets -- to fill me in. Watch us tonight at 5,6 and 10. I'll send as many updates as I can!

And thanks for your thoughtful and helpful comments on Facebook. Looks like the folks up here have lots of people pulling for them.

Heather Brown

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