Kent Conrad: “I have taken to the floor numerous times since the disasters that struck North Dakota and attempted to describe to my…”

“I have taken to the floor numerous times since the disasters that struck North Dakota and attempted to describe to my colleagues the really remarkable series of events that we have experienced: First of all, the greatest snowfall in our State's history; followed by a winter storm in early April that was the most powerful winter storm in 50 years, knocking out the electrical grid to 80,000 people for more than a week, leaving people with 15-foot snowdrifts, leaving people with the most powerful ice storm that we have ever seen that killed literally hundreds of thousands of cattle in North and South Dakota and also tied up the transportation system for most of our State, as well as much of South Dakota and parts of Minnesota. That was then followed by the 500-year flood, which was cataclysmic in Grand Forks. All of the dikes failed, a city of 50,000 was evacuated. Many of those people are still not back in their homes. In fact, 80 percent of the city of Grand Forks was in some way damaged by the floods. And, in the midst of all that, a fire broke out that destroyed much of downtown Grand Forks. This is a series of events, unparalleled in our State's history, and it has left much of our economy in ruins. It has left people sleeping on cots, living in cars, wondering what will happen to them next. And, as I think everyone here knows now, the disaster bill has been delayed.”