North Dakota Flooding Reminds People Of North Dakota's Existence

FARGO, ND—Flood waters reached record highs throughout North Dakota Tuesday, causing millions in property damage and reminding non-North Dakotans of the existence of the low-profile Great Plains state. “I’ve never been to North Dakota,” said San Francisco-area investment banker Gabriel Bennett. “But I saw that movie about it.” Phoenix housewife and mother of three Sheila Raines expressed similar recollection: “Isn’t that where Mount Rushmore is, or is that the other one?” Once flood waters recede, North Dakota is expected to return to obscurity until February 2012, when all of its residents will perish in an ice storm.