By Butch Ward
The Red River still was rising on April 20, 1997, when Editor Mike Jacobs and Publisher Mike Maidenberg told readers of their editorial that life in Grand Forks, N.D., would never be the same:
Grand Forks has sustained deep wounds, and there will be scars. On Saturday evening, as we write, the river continues its historic rise and fire is tearing at the heart of downtown. Thousands of buildings are immersed. Several of the town’s most historic structures are alight. There is no apparent power that can save them. These buildings were part of our past.
This week, as he followed reports of Hurricane Katrina’s deadly assault on the cities and towns of the Gulf Coast, Mike Jacobs recalled those days no one had imagined possible: the foul-smelling, chocolate brown floodwaters that crested at 54 feet; the fires that swept through downtown and destroyed his newsroom; the heroic efforts of the Grand Forks Herald staff to publish their newspaper –- and to help a community rebuild.
