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Here is your InForum Minute for Friday, May 13.
ALEXANDRIA — A severe thunderstorm with wind gusts of 80 miles per hour ripped through Douglas County Thursday night, May 12.
Accompanied by sheets of rain, the winds toppled decades-old trees, power lines, transformers, boat lifts, sheds and other structures.
One of the hardest hit areas was South Darling Drive NW, where houses were flattened, boats turned over, roofs torn away, a camper tipped over, and vehicles were damaged. Full story, photos and video here.
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Biden marks one million U.S. COVID deaths after losing political battles
President Joe Biden on Thursday commemorated the COVID-19 deaths of 1 million people in the United States, marking what he called "a tragic milestone" and urging Americans to "remain vigilant" during the ongoing pandemic.
In a statement, Biden acknowledged the impact of the deaths on families left behind and urged the country not to "grow numb to such sorrow."
The United States on Wednesday reached more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally, crossing a once-unthinkable milestone about two years after the first cases upended everyday life. The loss represents about one death for every 327 Americans, or more than the entire population of San Francisco or Seattle.
Most of those deaths, some 600,000, happened after Biden took office in January 2021 at the peak of a major wave of the disease.
Biden marked the sad occasion by ordering flags to be flown at half-staff. The administration on Thursday also hosted a global COVID Summit with other countries to spur international efforts to fight the pandemic. Full story here.
Efforts to build pedestrian, bicycle bridge near Bluestem Amphitheater progressing
MOORHEAD — Work is progressing on a high-clearance pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Red River connecting south Fargo and the Bluestem Amphitheater in south Moorhead.
The Moorhead City Council this week approved splitting the cost of a $128,000 environmental study needed before work could begin on the 800-foot long, 15-foot wide bridge and connecting cement pathways.
Moorhead and Fargo are both seeking federal or state funds to help with construction of the bridge that would be built to rise above any flood below 37 feet. That is the maximum flood level when the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion is completed, making it unlike other current pedestrian bridges that have to be lifted when floods arrive. Full story here.
