The Grand Forks Herald
The Grand Forks Herald
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Photo: Alan Draves |
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Early in the morning of April, 19, 1997, Grand Forks Herald employees were printing that
day's edition in the pressroom on North Fourth Street. The headline was
"Broken Dikes, Shattered Hopes". They never finished the press run. The employees evacuated
as the streets filled with water. Only a few thousand papers reached the subscribers that day.
Later that day, a fire started in the Security Building. The fire spread, and destroyed all
the buildings on the west side of North Third Street, between First and Second Avenues. One
of these was the Herald's offices, another housed the Herald's mailing service business. The
building housing the presses was not damaged in the fire, but had three feet of water in it.
As the floodwaters spread over the city, Herald employees abandoned their homes along with other
Grand Forks residents. But the Herald published every day, and also updated their web site daily.
The Herald's first temporary location was at the University of North Dakota. This location only lasted a day, until floodwaters reached the University, and the power and water supply was lost. The Herald then moved to the school in Manvel, N.Dak., about 10 miles north of Grand Forks. They prepared the stories in the school's computer lab, and transmitted them to St. Paul, Minn. for printing. The papers were flown back to Grand Forks. Newspapers were distributed free of charge in the evacuation centers. The Herald worked out of the Manvel school until the end of June, 1997.
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 Photo: Alan Draves |
 The Manvel School. Photo: Alan Draves |
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In July, 1997, the Herald returned to Grand Forks, to a vacant discount store building near the
Columbia Mall. In the fall of 1997, the Herald started construction of their new building
in downtown Grand Forks. This was the first new building downtown started after the flood.
The new building is at North Fourth Street and Second Avenue, next to the Herald's former
pressroom, which was converted to offices. The new building has a 97 foot clock tower
facing Second Avenue North. The Herald returned downtown at the end of July, 1998.
The newspapers are now printed in a new building in the Grand Forks Industrial Park, an area untouched by the flood. In 1998, the Grand Forks Herald received the Pulitzer Prize for Community Service. |
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 The former Best Products store was the Herald's temporary home when they returned to Grand Forks. Photo: Alan Draves |
 The Herald production building in the Industrial Park, built after the flood. Photo: Alan Draves |
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More Photos of the Grand Forks Herald
From the Grand Forks Herald... Grand Forks Herald current news Grand Forks Herald Flood of 1997 Top | Home Grand Forks Flood and Recovery
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 The new Herald building under construction, December, 1997. Photo: Alan Draves
Photo: Alan Draves |
