Fifteen years ago today, on Monday April 21, 1997, Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were shifting away from fighting the flood to waiting it out and planning the recovery. Here's what happened according to the Herald.
• Grand Forks police said they were still evacuating some residents. Mayor Pat Owens had mandated evacuation in much of the city and residents who refused to leave risked arrest. In East Grand Forks, Mayor Lynn Stauss said most residents had obeyed evacuation orders, but some were hiding from rescuers sent to get them out.
• After the Grand Forks County office building and the courthouse were flooded, officials temporarily moved the county seat to Larimore, N.D. Government offices were set up in the Masonic temple in town. Many county records were destroyed, so county workers would be starting from scratch in many cases. "We will get through this," said County Commissioner Robert Wood. "We've lost records. What we've lost is only stuff."
• East Grand Forks City Hall moved to the Comfort Inn on U.S. Highway 2. The city shifted gears from flood fight and rescue to flood recovery. For example, the city announced it would shoot video so residents can see the damage to their homes.
• The Grand Forks post office prepared to set up shop at Grand Forks Air Force Base, staffed by a few employees who were available for work. Those who showed up continued to sort mail for regional post offices they served. East Grand Forks residents got their mail in Crookston.
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• Inmates at the Grand Forks County jail had earlier evacuated to St. Michael's Catholic Church and had since been moved to the state penitentiary.
• The North Dakota National Guard brought in "water buffaloes," tanks filled with fresh water for area residents. Many of the guardsmen were from Grand Forks and had suffered great losses from the flood. But they did their duty, collecting and purifying water from the Turtle River and from reservoirs west of town.
• Several banks and other businesses said they were willing to suspend billing for flood survivors who hadn't been paid or couldn't get access to their funds.
• In Crookston, residents breathed a sigh of relief as the Red Lake River began to drop.
• In Pembina, the flood fight was all but lost. Mayor Hetty Walker announced that residents would have to evacuate by Tuesday evening. The projected Red River crest was too high for the city's dikes.
• Grand Forks and East Grand Forks residents learned that President Bill Clinton would pay a visit the next day. On that Monday, he had conferred at the White House with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt and members of Congress about federal aid.
• Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson visited East Grand Forks on Monday.
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