(first published in Crosscurrents Oct.-Nov. 2007 edition)
The district, the locals, the volunteers –they all put up a tremendous fight, but ultimately the Red River of the North rose too high, too fast. And although it’s been 10 years since the spring flooding in the Red River Valley destroyed much of Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks, Minn., the sights, the sounds, the emotions of this event linger for those who were there. "I can still picture those breaches like it was yesterday,” said Neil Schwanz, a geo-tech engineer. “I can picture myself standing [there], watching all this happen.”