YEAR AGO: Highest Water Levels - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

YEAR AGO: Highest Water Levels

One year ago today, thousands of people battling the Mouse River flood in Minot got some good news.

(Curt Zimbelman - Mayor of Minot) "We feel the river has probably crested.

But there was bad news too - the record high water was going to stick around quite a while.  In fact, it turned out that the Mouse in Minot was above its previous record high - set in 1881 - for 10 days, not falling below the 15-58 level until July 4th.
On June 26th, 2011, we were getting more video of homes under water, including in Burlington where the mobile home court took a vicious hit from the flood.
At KX News, our non-stop flood coverage included long stretches of video shot from boats - and from National Guard Blackhawk helicopters as city and county officials took tours of the region to understand the severity of the flooding.
Meanwhile, thousands of people not hit directly by high water were being impacted by the boil order  - the warning that the city's water supply might be contaminated.
It was a state-imposed boil order that did not sit well with Minot's public works director.

(Alan Walter - Public Works Director) "We got the people who are protecting this city standing in the water, licking their fingers, hands, when they get done eating a sandwich out there...and we are worried about boiling the damn water.  Doesn't make any sense."

Also on June 26th, a drama played out while one boat tour checked on some Minot residences. Some kittens were seen darting across the tops of some flooded homes - and one - dubbed "Lucky" - was rescued by a National Guard soldier.  As Jennifer Thorgramson of KX News pointed out at the time, the cat that been outsmarted by the Mouse was finally safe.