Flood Enforcement Reminders from the
Fargo Police Dept.
As flood waters rise along the Red River, the Fargo Police Department encourages citizens to remain safe and facilitate emergency efforts by following these existing city ordinances:
(City ordinance 10-0318 encompasses a state of emergency declaration and if you are arrested for violating aspects of this ordinance there is a $500 bail and you will be required to appear in court.)
The following can result in your arrest and or a substantial fine:
(Ordinance 10-0318)
Do not climb dikes or destroy them.
Do not enter areas deemed off-limits by city officials.
Do not operate watercraft in a way that damages flood protection efforts (wakes).
(Ordinances 10-0318 and 08-0123)
Do not drive your vehicle on a dike.
(Ordinance 08-1301D)
Do not drive through or around a barricade. This can result in a $20 fine.
The Fargo Police Department appreciates residents’ cooperation with these city ordinances.
What’s Happened So Far…
The following bridges and streets have been closed and will remain so until further notifications by the city of Fargo due to flooding on the Red River:
• On Sunday, April 3, 2011, 2nd Street North was closed in preparation for levee construction on 2nd Street North from 1st Avenue to 6th Avenue. Traffic on 2nd Street will be detoured on 4th Street North until the levee is removed after spring flooding.
• Due to rising river levels, the 12th Avenue North bridge over the Red River will be closed at noon, Tuesday, April 5. The bridge will remain closed until the water level recedes.
• North Broadway Bridge Closed Due to Flooding
• As of April 4, 2011 at 7:30 a.m., the North Broadway Bridge between 37th Avenue North and Clay County Highway 22 was closed due to the rising river level. The bridge will remain closed until the river level recedes.
For all future updates a complete, updated list of Fargo street closures can be found at www.fargostreets.com
Meanwhile on the east side of the Red River
• Flood wall inserts will go in today at the new I-94 Brook-Dale Flood wall and at 1st Ave. N.
• Moorhead residents are asked to disconnect sump pumps from the sanitary sewer system and discharge sump pumps outside until further notice.
Road Closures
• Toll bridge at 15th Avenue N
• 3rd Street from downtown through Woodlawn Park
• Rivershore Drive S under the I-94 bridge
It is anticipated that 1st Avenue N from 8th Street to the Red River Bridge will close April 6, 2011.
The City of Moorhead will have Flood 2011 announcements during daily News Conferences throughout the 2011 flood event beginning April 5th, 2011 at 10 a.m. in the old Go Moorhead store, now used as the City of Moorhead’s Flood 2011 Press Room, located in the Moorhead Center Mall. Moorhead Community Access Media will broadcast City of Moorhead 2011 Flood News Conferences. Please visit www.moorheadaccess.org for channel information, broadcast and replay times.
Checkin In With The D.C. Crowd
VoteNote for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District:
Recent Congressional House Votes:
The HAMP Termination Act of 2011
Vote Passed (252-170, 1 Present, 9 Not Voting)
Rep. Collin Peterson voted YES
The House voted to end the Home Affordable Modification Program, a home foreclosure prevention program that uses Troubled Asset Relief Program money to help homeowners modify their mortgages. The Senate is unlikely to take up the bill.
Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act
Vote Passed (225-195, 12 Not Voting)
Rep. Collin Peterson voted NO
The House voted to revive a voucher program that would help low-income Washington D.C. residents send their children to private schools. The bill faces an uncertain future but could be attached to the 2011 spending bill currently being negotiated between the house and the senate.
FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011
Vote Passed (223-196, 13 Not Voting)
Rep. Collin Peterson voted NO
The House passed this bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration for four years. The Senate passed a two-year bill in February. The two chambers will now work out a compromise bill.
Government Shutdown Prevention Act
Vote Passed (221-202, 1 Present, 8 Not Voting)
Rep. Collin Peterson voted NO
This bill would declare the House-passed spending bill, H.R.1, to be enacted if the Senate does not pass a FY2011 spending bill by April 6. Supporters say the vote highlights the Senate’s inability to pass a budget, while opponents say the bill is unconstitutional.
Stay Tuned For Upcoming Votes:
Repeal of 1099 tax reporting rule – H.R.4
The Senate is scheduled to take up this bill that would repeal a tax reporting provision in the healthcare overhaul law that affects business and real estate owners.
Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 – H.R.910
The House is scheduled to vote on this bill that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
Net neutrality rule disapproval – H.J.Res.37
This House resolution would overturn a Federal Communications Commission rule regarding “net neutrality.”
New Names and New Threats To Democracy
I just learned the proper nom de plume for the last generation of U.S. citizens. I’m sure I’ve heard it before, but apparently it didn’t sink in deep enough for me to be able to whip it off my tongue. Do you know what it is? In case not, anyone between the ages of 18 and 29 are known as MILLENNIALS and they were born after 1980. They are a significant generation because they are the first generation to come of age in the new millennium, hence their demographic name.
The Pew Research Center wrote a summary last year about who the Millennials are and contrasted them with the traits and trends of previous generations. Millennials were described as being “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.” I wondered about that.
I mean, after all, we are talking about teenagers and twenty-somethings. Aren’t they supposed to be “self-expressive, liberal and open to change?” If not at this age and stage in their lives, than when? I know many people who would have fit just such a description, and yet today a few of them are the stodgiest and most closed-minded people I’ve ever talked to. People, events and life change us all. There’s no guarantee that because we were carefree and fun loving in our youth we will stay that way.
A description that did catch my eye was Pew’s assessment regarding the Millennials’ penchant for education. According to the Pew Researchers, today’s Millennials are “on track to become the most educated generation in American History.” Millennials are reported to love the many modes of communicating their self-expression. Three –quarters have created profiles on at least one social networking site, and one in five have posted videos of themselves online. They love tattoos, as is evident by the survey numbers: four in ten have tattoos. Think about that a moment. That’s a lot of marked up people. Another trend Millennials like to indulge is body piercings. Nearly one in four have at least one body piercing aside from their earlobe. According to Pew, that’s about six times the number of older adults who have body piercings.
Unlike their parents or grandparents, Millennials trust government before they trust other people. Sentiments such as “you can’t be too careful” are widely felt in dealing with the public in general, yet their skepticism toward government is low, believing in fact, the government should provide more solutions for its citizens. It’s a real mystery, because the elder generations who came before them have the exact opposite feelings. One theory is the Millennial generation were so doted on and protected by overly protective parents and institutions, could we have suppressed their innate ability to make gut decisions? Combine that with a media culture that focuses on all the dangers we live with on a day-to-day basis. No wonder they are paranoid!
As a side note, I personally believe the internet is the single most dangerous tool all democratic and free societies have to face in today’s world. The exchange of information within the blink of an eye is nothing short of miraculous. However, one must wonder if this isn’t the mother lode inside our proverbial Pandora’s Box.
When one whacko redneck southern preacher can cause the death of thirty people across an entire ocean, in an entirely different continent, by purposefully creating a video of himself burning the holiest book our country’s number one mortal enemy reveres, then air it all over the world—one might ask can our right to “freedom of speech“ survive?
I use the internet hours upon hours each and every day. In fact I’m not sure how I could do much of what I do without it. And no, I am not in favor of having the government or anyone monitor what I put into emails or get in emails sent to me. There has to be a better way to prevent a zealous nut job from having the ability to cause physical harm and death to anyone — let alone THIRTY people, then walk away denying culpability for what he caused!
Let’s hope the up and coming Millennials have a mega-watt genius amongst their many who will figure a way to preserve our rights to free speech while silencing other home grown terrorists. And that’s exactly what the whacko preacher in Florida is: a homegrown terrorist — just as insane and certainly every bit as dangerous as Osama Bin Laden.
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