Montana-Dakota Utilities to shut off gas in Burlington
BURLINGTON Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. will be going home-to-home here to disconnect service.
A media release from MDU stated that because of this, customers do not need to call MDU to have their natural gas service shut off.
As reported in The Minot Daily News on Tuesday, residents living in the evacuated zones in Minot can have their gas service shut off before the evacuation deadline. The deadline, as of Tuesday afternoon, was moved from 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. today.
- James C. Falcon
Verendrye Electric to do 'everything to keep power on'
Verendrye Electric is not planning to preemptively shut power off to areas projected to be affected by flooding, unless it is aware of an urgent public safety issue.
"We will keep power on as long as possible during the flood," said Community Relations Manager Tom Rafferty in a press release.
After areas are evacuated and inundated with water, power may be disconnected. It is also possible there could be power outages caused by flooding.
"We will do everything we can to keep power on, but outages are expected with significant flooding," Rafferty said. "We will attempt to make repairs if possible, but people who lose power in flooded areas should be prepared for a long term outage."
If people are leaving their property and expect it to flood, they should shut the power off at their main breaker and notify Verendrye.
Verendrye will also disconnect power at the meter if requested, as long as the meter is accessible. Disconnect and reconnect fees will not be charged. However, if a meter is disconnected and the property floods, people will need to have their electrical system inspected before it is reconnected.
Visit for more safety information. Call 1-800-472-2141 for more information and to report outages or safety concerns day or night.
Court hearings suspended due to flood
Due to evacuations and potential flooding in the Minot area, all non-essential court hearings at the Ward County Courthouse have been canceled until July 11.
According to Carolyn Woolf, district court administrator, only emergency juvenile hearings, mental health matters and jail appearances will be held through the week ending July 8.
Notices of rescheduled dates will be mailed to parties involved in any other hearings.
Sawyer preparing to raise levees for flood
The city of Sawyer was preparing Tuesday to raise its levees to handle the oncoming floodwaters, said mayor Cy Kotaska.
Kotaska said the Souris River is expected to crest at 27.9 feet in Sawyer but the city's levees are about 28 to 28 1/2 feet.
"It puts it really close and we're obviously concerned," said Kotaska, but thus far flooding isn't predicted for Sawyer and evacuations had not been ordered for residents as of Tuesday afternoon.
Kotaska said the city will be raising streets that are at lower levels and has also sandbagged infrastructure, including the city's water treatment plant.
- Andrea Johnson
Prayer service planned tonight in Minot church
A community prayer service will be held today at 10:30 p.m. in Our Redeemer's Church, 700-16th Ave. SE.
The service is planned as a time of prayer for the many needs and the safety of everyone in Minot and the surrounding areas in light of the flooding and evacuations.
- Loretta Johnson
Some Minot residents urged to flee now
The city of Minot is urging residents living on 27th Street Southwest north of 14th Avenue by Souris Valley Golf Course to evacuate immediately.
Officials said that the road is eroding due to water flow, and they urged those residents to get out well ahead of Wednesday's 6 p.m. city deadline.
The Souris River is set to overtop levees in Minot, displacing about a quarter of the North Dakota city's population for a second time this spring and promising to swamp thousands of structures under the worst flooding in four decades.
Bismarck sends sandbags to Magic City
BISMARCK (AP) - The city of Bismarck is giving 100,000 filled sandbags to Minot for its fight against a rising Souris River that's expected to spill over levees and force thousands from their homes.
Bismarck Public Works Director Jeff Heintz said the city has more than 300,000 filled sandbags on standby and is able to give some away because the Missouri River will crest lower than first thought.