Flood Recovery in Spotlight - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Flood Recovery in Spotlight

People and governments hit by the 2011 flood will have a shot at more federal assistance.

That was the message from members of the state's congressional delegation at a flood recovery press conference following the group's tour.

The three say the newly-enacted Hurricane Sandy relief bill includes billions of dollars that flood victims in Mouse River valley might be able to tap into.

They met this afternoon with officials from many groups impacted by the flood, looking for suggestions for areas they might be able to help get better results from the federal government.

Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman said he is glad there is the prospect of more CDBG funding - and he hopes it can be unlocked to make funds available to people who've already fixed up their property.

(Curt Zimbelman, Minot Mayor) "We should be able to help those folks. Just because they got after it early and quickly should not be a detriment to how much help they should get."

Senator Heidi Heitkamp said she is also interested in getting more relief to people who are struggling financially because of the flood.

(Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, -D- ND) "I wanna hear your ideas of how we can help the folks better recover, not just our government infrastructure, not just our school infrastructure, not just mitigation into the future, but those people today who are still struggling with the flood."

Heitkamp and fellow Washington newcomer Congressman Kevin Cramer said they hope to use the good will that new members of Congress often are shown to help the area get more funds for flood recovery.