This week marks the eighth year since North Dakota and the entire nation witnessed the flooding of the Red River Valley, in particular the city of Grand Forks.

I remember going home at noon for lunch and not returning to work for hours as I stared in amazement over the flooding that forced evacuation of the community. It got even more bizarre when downtown buildings, surrounded by water, caught on fire, and aircraft were called in to "bomb" the blazes with chemicals and water. The Grand Forks Herald, which was forced to run its operations from a school in a nearby town, had a surreal photo of a firefighter diving underwater trying to connect a hose to a submerged hydrant.

That same week, thousands of flood refugees made their way to Devils Lake seeking food and shelter. Journal sports reporter Mike Bellmore camped out at the front door of Lake Region State College trying to get interviews with displaced Grand Forks residents who wound up making Devils Lake their home for several weeks - waiting for flood waters to go down so they could return to their homes. The Lakewood Bible Camp, Camp Grafton and the college provided most of the living quarters, but residents throughout Devils Lake opened their homes to strangers who had the misfortune of being left homeless.

The Lake Region had record snowfall amounts over the course of the 1996-97 winter, more than 100 inches of snow. But it wasn't until the April ice storm that things got out of hand.

Devils Lake also was hit hard by flooding that year, but it wasn't the "wrath of God" type flooding that people saw in the Valley. It took longer for the water in the basin to make its way to Devils Lake. In some ways it was more devastating than what happened in the Red River Valley, because Devils Lake never went down and property owners didn't get to return home. I witnessed more than one home being burned down while it was in the water, because there was no other way to demolish it and keep the debris from spreading across the lake. It was a sobering experience to see families who could only watch as their homes went up in flames, ignited by a match they had to light.

In the spring of 1997, Devils Lake had its highest recorded inflows of 538,000 acre feet, raising its elevation 5.16 feet from 1,437.81 feet above sea level to 1,442.97 and expanding its girth from 80,400 acres to 99,900 acres. Today Devils Lake is just over 1,448, encompassing more than 130,000 acres. It's expected to continue to grow this year, reaching at least 1,449 this spring.

The shoreline of Devils Lake is nothing reminiscent of what it looked like in 1994, when I first moved there. And visitors are amazed by the miles of dike that now border most of the west side of the community.

Making a commitment

Mandan Mayor Ken LaMont, after meeting with Russ Staiger, of the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, and Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce Director Kelvin Hullet, feels that, if the community wants to attract new retail, a long-term strategy needs to be established.

The plan, LaMont says, needs to address retaining existing business along with recruitment of new retail opportunities. Staiger put LaMont and city Commissioner Sandra Tibke in touch with a company that specializes in locating sites for retail businesses and had been involved in finding locations for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club in Bismarck.

It was recommended that Mandan send delegates to participate in the International Council of Shopping Centers, which will be meeting soon in Las Vegas. LaMont asked two commissioners and city administrator Jim Neubauer to attend the event.

"I think it's a great idea," LaMont says. "But not if we're not committed to doing something. We've made a commitment to redevelopment through remediation. We need a similar commitment to long-term recruitment."