I came to Minot, North Dakota today to actually look at some of the damage that's been done from the flooding. But when I got here and actually had a chance to observe the flooding from the helicopter and looking down at the damage to some homes totally covered. But then also I had the opportunity to speak with a lot of the survivors that were in the various shelters and also survivors that weren't in the shelter. Spent some time with a lot of the volunteers from the faith based groups. The Red Cross as well as from the Salvation Army. In addition to that I spent some time with some of the first responders, the city officials, both the city and state officials. And one thing that really struck me here is the resiliency of the people here in North Dakota. But also how people came out. Neighbor helping neighbor.

These kinds of big disasters it's not a one week recovery, usually not even a several month recovery Your looking at a longer time. You've got great people, you've got a great state and when these things happen we work together and come out even stronger.

The Mouse River flood has had lasting effects on our region. Rebuilding will take determination and hard work by everyone. All levels of government, many volunteer organizations, and especially you, the residents. And now we have a great opportunity to shape the future of the valley. Community meetings are being held to begin developing a long term recovery plan.