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By JOHN FLESHER and DALE WETZEL, Associated Press


      MINOT, N.D. (AP) - Gus and Jane Krueger spent part of their 58th
wedding anniversary in a McDonald's restaurant, sipping chocolate
milkshakes as a government agent provided a crash course in
applying for assistance to salvage their flood-ravaged house.


      Like most of the thousands of homeowners in sections of Minot
overrun by the Souris River, the Kruegers carried no flood
insurance and acknowledged feeling lost as they pondered what to do
next. Still, they were determined to rebuild and carry on.


      "It's our home," Jane Krueger, 76, said Sunday while waiting
to meet with the Federal Emergency Management Agency official.
"It's where we belong."


      As the river hit its record-shattering peak and began a slow
retreat, residents looked ahead to an arduous rebuilding job while
continuing to deal with short-term obstacles such as sharing the
homes of friends and relatives, traffic tie-ups and an advisory to
boil drinking water.


      "We know that we have a tremendous recovery effort coming, and
even as we talk about how to beat this water back over the next few
days, we have already started talking about how the recovery will
be managed and organized," Gov. Jack Dalrymple said.


      Just 375 of the 4,000 homes in flooded areas were insured for
floods, FEMA spokesman John Ashton said. Many owners said they had
been led to believe it was unnecessary after a 1969 flood led to
construction of levees and straightening of the river channel.


      Mike and Jodi Picard checked with neighbors when moving into
their house less than two years ago and found that just one had
flood insurance. The river was a quarter-mile away, and the
prevailing opinion was that their subdivision was no longer in the
floodplain.


      "Now you really kick yourself for not having it," said Jodi
Picard, 44.


      The couple stood on a bridge overlooking the swollen river,
straining for a glimpse of their house in a distant cul-de-sac. It
appeared water was knee-deep on the main floor.

      They were staying with relatives in the area but insisted their
departure was temporary. After the water recedes, they'll pump the
basement dry, tear out drywall and insulation and make needed
repairs.


      The Souris topped out Sunday nearly 2 feet below projections
heading into the weekend, and it appeared damage might not extend
beyond the homes and businesses that took on water Friday.
Officials warned against overconfidence until the river fell enough
to take the pressure off levees. The National Weather Service
projected the river would decline 2 feet by midweek.


      State lawmakers probably will consider offering flood relief
during a special session this fall. North Dakota has $386 million
in a rainy-day fund, and $136 million in a school-aid fund could be
diverted to the many communities touched by floodwaters this year.
Both are fattened by revenues from an oil boom that generates $1
billion a year in tax money and has provided a shield during the
recession.


      FEMA has approved individual rebuilding assistance for Burleigh
County, home to the capital of Bismarck, and Ward County, where
Minot is located. Dalrymple is pushing to expand it to 20 other
counties and the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and Spirit Lake Sioux
reservations.


      The assistance is capped at a little more than $30,000, but Sen.
Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said a more realistic figure is $7,000 to
$8,000 - the typical amounts provided to victims of severe flooding
in Nashville, Tenn., a year ago.


      FEMA and the federal Small Business Administration will offer
loan and grant programs, too. The Bank of North Dakota, the
nation's only state-owned bank, already offers low-interest loans
up to $500,000 to businesspeople, farmers and ranchers in places
the president has declared a disaster area.


      Eric Hardmeyer, the Bank of North Dakota's president, said the
bank learned valuable lessons about administering disaster aid from
the epic Red River Valley floods of 1997, which swamped the city of
Grand Forks, knocked out its sewer and water systems and forced the
evacuation of more than 50,000 people.


      "We found that we needed to let the federal programs get in and
do their business before we found out where we should play,"
Hardmeyer said. "Their pockets are deeper, and they're more
experienced at that than we are."


      Pat Owens, who was mayor of Grand Forks when the flood hit in
April 1997, said federal agencies were critical to the city's
recovery. They set up a one-stop shop for aid programs in Grand
Forks' Civic Auditorium.


      "That was a salvation," Owens said. "People would not know
how to even begin trying to bring their lives back, and that gave
them a place to go."


      Two federal assistance centers were opening this week in Minot
and another in Bismarck, Dalrymple said.


      But some occupants of damaged or destroyed homes were still
dealing with the shock while struggling to look ahead.


      Les Younger, a retired Air Force veteran who maintained aircraft
weapons systems at Minot Air Force Base, and his wife, Jacque, a
seamstress, said they did not buy flood insurance because they
thought their home was far enough from the river.


      Rebuilding "is going to be very tough, because we don't have a
lot of savings," Jacque Younger said.


      Many said their religious faith would get them through the
disaster.


      John and Deb Walker held each other tightly during a Sunday
service at a local hotel that united three Evangelical Lutheran
congregations. The couple married just two months ago and moved
into Deb Walker's 55-year-old house, which easily survived previous
floods but now is covered almost to the roof.


      They said they weren't sure what would become of the structure
but intended to remain in the Minot area, which Deb Walker
described as their "physical foundation."


      "But our spiritual foundation is found in Christ," she said.
"In times like these, we ... put our trust in him and let him be
our guide."

Gallery

Disasters

The Souris River began a long, slow retreat in Minot on Sunday, leaving behind an arduous rebuilding job for more than 4,000 homeowners and hundreds of business operators, most of whom lack insurance to pay for it.

As water ebbs in Minot, thoughts of recovery

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