State and local taxpayers recently purchased $50,000,000.00 worth of upscale properties in Oxbow, ND, a small town 15 mile south of Fargo. The tax payer cost for these properties, more than 40 residences, averaged over one million dollars apiece (see buyout list below). Owners of the private golf course club house building, which had an…
Craig Hertsgaard: Fargo Flood Diversion Authority May Have Hit A Brick Wall In Permitting Process
The St. Paul Army Corps and the Fargo Diversion Authority (DA) say they don’t need a North Dakota state permit to build a dam and reservoir south of Fargo for their project. They sent a letter to the ND State Water Commission saying, “a dam permit is not a legal prerequisite to federal construction,” but…
Why Is The Mayor Of Oxbow Getting Almost 200 Percent Of His Property Value For A Flood Diversion Buyout?
Recently Rich Mattern, the Mayor of West Fargo, vented some spleen at Governor Jack Dalrymple and the Legislature over their priorities on water projects. Mattern pointed out that while his constituents are facing higher water bills because the state wouldn’t make money available for a new water plant, the City of Oxbow is getting a…
Craig Hertsgaard: The Dead Aren't Worth It
The Army Corps says the cost to protect the graves of those buried in cemeteries upstream of the diversion project is $14 million, and it’s not worth it. The proposed Fargo diversion will cause those cemeteries to flood. They’re wrong, and it’s sad. They have already paid more than $10 million for a clubhouse at…
Fargo's Special Assessment Vote Was A Farce
The preliminary results for Fargo’s special assessment vote are in and nobody should be shocked that, in a vote where local governments got more votes than the people and where no voters were protected by a secret ballot, the local governments got their way. For those of you just tuning in, the vote to create…
Marcus Larson: ND Senators Refuse To Protect Sanctity Of Cemeteries
This post appeared originally on FMDam.org One of the first memories I have from my childhood relating to a cemetery was a stern warning to respect the dead in their graves in solemnity, because behaving without a decorum of reverence was disrespectful. Which included instructions of where you should walk, how loud you should talk…
Fargo Legislators Worried About Fargo Flood Control Language In The Party Platform
In their final act of a long convention day that saw restless delegates sit through a series of nominations for unopposed candidates, North Dakota Republicans unanimously passed a platform of resolutions for the 2014 election cycle. The full document is below, but some Fargo Republicans I’ve spoken to – particularly legislators – say they’re worried…
Aaland Column: Diversion Alternative Puts Flood Protection Above Special Interests
Two weeks ago the Mndak Upstream Coalition detailed an alternative to Fargo’s diversion plan that would put Fargo first and deliver the same level of protection for the FM Metro without impacting upstream communities. If the southern inlet to the FM Diversion is moved three miles north, all impacts to Richland and Wilkin Counties would…
Guest Post: Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Project Is A Disaster
Having experienced many of the various cultures here in the United States, there is one aspect of North Dakota and the mid-West that I am incredibly fond of – one that sets itself apart from many other parts of the country – the sense of community. The unconditional friendliness towards one’s neighbor is something that…
Were Fargo Flood Projections Exaggerated To Bully Legislature Into Approving Diversion Funds?
Fargo-area leaders were quick to cite the projections for a “flood of record” during the debate in the state legislature over funding for the region’s controversial flood diversion project. But now it seems that the flood will fall well short of those dire projections, and in fact looking at the latest trend lines for water…
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