Disasters

Amid losses, Japan determined to reopen schools
Japan is determined to begin a rite of spring: the start of the school year, even as some parents and children grieve after the quake and tsunami.
Authorities have advised about 200 people who live near the Des Lacs river in northwest North Dakota to evacuate their homes because a dam might fail.
I-29 closing causes traffic mess in flooded rural areas
Authorities say snowplows are removing debris from Interstate 29 north of Fargo, but the road will likely remain closed for at least another day.
Photos: Red River flooding from the air
The water has reached record levels north of Fargo-Moorhead and dozens of roads are under water making travel nearly impossible. MPR News sent photojournalist Ann Arbor Miller to get an aerial view of the flooding in the Red River Valley.
More than 30 miles of Interstate 29 remained shut down from north of Fargo to Hillsboro. State transportation officials said roads that have never flooded before are now under water.
Authorities now say Japan's nuclear disaster reaches Chernobyl level
The level 7 -- the highest level on the internation scale -- signifies a "major accident" with "wider consequences" than the previous level, according to the standards scale.
Tiny Minn. town beats back flood waters
Some question the sensibility of spending millions to save the small town just north of Moorhead, but Mayor Traci Goble is seeking to build permanent flood protection from the Buffalo River.
The body of a 30-year-old Duluth woman has been found in the charred remains of a shed owned by her father.
Design firm says it should be free of 35W bridge claim
A California design firm asked the Minnesota Supreme Court on Monday to block the firm from being sued by the state of Minnesota over the deadly Interstate 35W bridge collapse.