Peace Garden News

Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, along with Congressman Kelly Armstrong, have made a formal request to President Biden for a major disaster declaration following a severe winter ice storm in North Dakota. The storm occurred from December 25 to December 27 and affected several counties including Barnes, Cass, Dickey, Grant, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman and Traill.

The delegation emphasized the extent of the damage caused by the storm in their letter to the President. "The ice storm destroyed over 2,000 electrical poles, resulting in over 20,000 North Dakota residents being without power for days. Preliminary Damage Assessments indicate more than $11.5 million in expected damages," they stated.

The requested disaster declaration would provide federal resources to aid recovery efforts and implement disaster mitigation strategies in the impacted areas. "North Dakota continues to recover from the late December ice storm and is therefore requesting a major disaster declaration for 13 counties… We support the State’s request and urge you to approve it as soon as possible so the necessary Federal resources can be made available to North Dakotans," wrote Hoeven, Cramer and Armstrong.