28 Feb 2017

Flood of ’97 overwhelms Wahpeton/Breckenridge

(originally published in the October-November 2007 Crosscurrents) Engineering division’s Matt Bray and Tim Grundhoffer fought two swiftly rising rivers, blizzard conditions and extreme temperatures only to be overcome by conditions beyond their control and to lose portions of a town not just once, but twice, in the same flood. Bray, a geotech engineer, and Grundhoffer, a structural engineer, were assigned as flood subarea engineers in Wahpeton, N.D., and Breckenridge, Minn., during the 1997 floods that wreaked havoc across the Red River Valley. Although they worked together closely, Bray worked primarily in Wahpeton and Grundhoffer in Breckenridge. Pete Corkin, from Rock Island District, assisted them.

28 Feb 2017

Memories linger of disaster at East Grand Forks/Grand Forks

(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.”

16 Feb 2017

RED talks continue educating employees

With more than 12 RED talks in the books, the St. Paul District is adjusting its sites on the knowledge sharing program in the coming weeks.