Red River notebook

Fargo city administrators said Sunday morning that they stand by their decision to limit evacuations to two inundated neighborhoods and to about 2,000 elderly and disabled residents.

Federal officials had urged them to evacuate more people, according to Mayor Dennis Walaker, who said he resisted making a call for a widespread evacuation even as his own mother and grandchildren left town.

"The process for the entire United States is not the same as it is for Fargo, North Dakota," he said.

MATT MCKINNEY

As floodwaters receded Sunday, the mood among city officials at their daily press briefing was lighter than it has been for days. Deputy Mayor Tim Mahoney even looked ahead, something that hadn't happened for days, to begin his city's plea for federal funding to build a permanent dike.

"We only need $800 million," he said, after comparing that to the $800 billion spent on the bailout.

Walaker said: "We are lobbying as we speak."

The U.S. Coast Guard has a message for canoeists thinking about braving the flooded Red River: Don't.

For safety reasons, all vessels, including canoes, are barred from the river except for search and rescue and law enforcement, the Coast Guard said Sunday.

The ban extends from Wahpeton, N.D., north to Pembina -- basically the entire length of the Red River along the Minnesota-North Dakota border.

CASEY COMMON

The town of Hendrum, Minn., is doing fast work on its dike system to contend with a sudden rise of the Red River.

Smart said he thinks the situation is under control. Hendrum is a town of about 320 people about 25 miles north of the Fargo-Moorhead area.