Bismarck, N.D. (AP) Coast Guard and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service boat crews are patrolling rural areas of southeast North Dakota, looking for farmers stranded by the swollen Sheyenne River.

Coast Guard Chief Exor Pabro says the river had risen by as much as a foot in some areas along the river since Friday.

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Dave Wedan said two people were taken by airboat from their farm near Kindred Saturday morning.

Wedan says floodwaters had reached within 100 feet of another rural farm home near Kindred but the family refused to evacuate.

In Valley City, many of the town's 7,000 residents have evacuated while the city's sewer system was being repaired.

Barnes County Sheriff Gene Bjerke says the town appears to be holding its own against the bloated river.

Information from: Don Haney, KFGO-AM, http://kfgo.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 04-18-09 1423CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list