Moorhead Asks For Volunteers; Sets 1M Sandbag Goal
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) -- Moorhead is calling for volunteers starting Tuesday to help make 1 million sandbags to hold back flooding expected this spring.
But the job will be easier than in years past. Minnesota Public Radio reports Moorhead had two custom-designed machines built to make filling sandbags safer and more efficient.
Mayor Mark Voxland says paid workers will run the machines, and conveyor belts will load the 30- to 50-pound bags into trucks.
But the city says volunteers are still needed to stack sandbags on pallets that will be delivered to flood-affected properties, and again later to build sandbag dikes to protect flood-prone homes.
Moorhead expects to fill 1 million sandbags in 10 days. Across the Red River, Fargo, N.D., is nearly halfway to its goal of 3 million sandbags.
(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)