The dike would stop the Wild Rice and Sheyenne Rivers from flooding south Fargo, as they did in 1997.
Proponents say they have no design details yet.
But the Federal Emergency Management Agency has set aside 11-million dollars for the project, to be matched by state and federal dollars. The 1999 Legislature appropriated money for Grand Forks and Wahpeton flood protection after the 1997 flood. Fargo city engineer Mark Bitner says the area of Fargo that remains vulnerable includes six-thousand homes, four elementary schools, a new technical park and a new hospital. But communities south of Fargo fear their property would flood if the dike is built. Thousands of people, yes, thousands have told government officials that they do not want a dike.