Moorhead's new mayor talks about a rising river and growing his city

As the Red River of the North continues to rise, Fargo and Moorhead have declared states of emergency and hundreds of volunteers have turned out to fill hundreds of thousands of sandbags.

Angela Davis was live Wednesday from Minnesota Public Radio's studios at Concordia College in Moorhead. She talked with Moorhead's new mayor, Johnathan Judd, about preparing for another flood and how bad it would have to get to put homes and businesses at risk.

Chuck Fritz, executive director of the International Water Institute, also joined the conversation. He has worked with towns up and down the Red River to prepare for the floods that are common along this relatively young river.

Later in the show, Angela talked with Maria Modi Tuya, who won North Dakota's Poetry Out Loud competition in 2018 and went on to be a national finalist. Her family is part of Fargo's community of South Sudanese refugees. She is now a student at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

To listen to the show, click the audio player above.