The Grass is Greener | Video

Jenny Castro | 6/20/2012

One year ago today, the second mandatory evacuation was ordered in the flood zones of Minot. Hundreds of families were told that their homes would be flooded, and they needed to get everything out.

The evacuees were scattered all over Minot in the homes of friends, family, co-workers, hotels or the evacuation shelters. At the time, we talked to one woman who was staying in a camper with her husband and two dogs. They had no idea where they were going to live. Today, they are still in Minot and even back in their home.

It took a lot of time, money, effort and patience to renovate Dawn Rasmussen`s property. Looking back, she says she has no regrets.

"Things happen for a reason and I think I really appreciate things more. I really do, I mean it`s little things that we took for granted and now it`s like I`m so happy to have a bathtub. I`m so happy to have a home to come home to."

She`ll never forget the first time she walked back into her house after the flood.

"It definitely smelled like the flood, it was awful. I`ll never forget that smell. I mean, I think I will always know that smell."

Today, you would never know that the entire basement and three feet of the main floor was swamped with water. She had to replace all her flooring, furniture and most of the kitchen cabinets. Completely redecorating her house has helped her to forget all the pain the flood caused.

"I`m excited for this week to be over, I really am, and I think it`s time to just let it go."

Calvin and Owen are also happy to be back home and Dawn believes that better days are ahead for everyone in Minot.

"It kind of makes you who you are and I think it`s an experience that I went through and everyone else went through and everyone else did in this town and there`s a lot of relationships and friendships in this town that were created from it."

Dawn says maintaining a positive attitude throughout the flood and recovery process has helped her get through the past year, she even thinks the grass is greener in her yard because of the mineral deposits left behind when the Mouse River receded.

Dawn says her home isn`t completely back to normal. The basement has been gutted and sanitized, but is still needs to be finished.

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