He came, not promising the world, but offering to help in any way he could.
That was Gov. John Hoeven’s message Tuesday morning as he met with members of the Devils Lake City Commission.
One of the things mentioned at an emergency meeting held Monday was the possibility of getting a helicopter to have it stationed nearby in case there was a medical emergency that ambulances simply could not reach. Hoeven came to discuss that with local officials.
“Most of our helicopters are deployed to Iraq,” he told a small gathering in City Hall.
“Plus they’re not set up to transport patients. We could get medical personnel in to a remote area, but transporting might be a little tricky in a Blackhawk,” he said.
How about a high wheel vehicle or a four-wheel drive ambulance like the National Guard has? It was Hoeven’s suggestion that keeping a helicopter here in case it was needed, would be a very expensive proposition, but there would be alternatives they could pursue, like the high wheel vehicles or the specialized ambulances.
Temporarily, he said a helicopter could be on stand-by, but a longer-term solution would be found that would be more appropriate.
After the short briefing, the governor and officials left heading toward Minnewaukan. The governor wanted to see what this latest rain event did to the most vulnerable places on the lake, like the town of Minnewaukan. A caravan led by the governor’s transport van stopped at the intersection of Highway 19 and old Highway 281 for a few minutes. He held a press conference there alongside the road with the flooded, crumbling highway in the background before continuing on to the Benson County Seat.
The setting emphasized the rising concerns and dangers faced by residents of the flooding Devils Lake Basin.
Devils Lake, ND —
