- [Newswoman] The flood projection has been raised to 41 feet.

- [Newsman] Guard troops started nonstop levy patrols preparing for the highest crest in history.

- [Newsman] The emergency response teams rushed to dike brakes in South Moorhead.

- [Newswoman] Crews tried to fill the gap with sandbags around two o'clock this morning, but couldn't stop the water.

- [Newswoman] City officials have issued an Emergency evacuation.

- [Newsman] A slow drop in the South meant the first look at the devastation left behind.

- [Newsman] This is now the worst flood in the history for Fargo-Moorhead.

(peaceful music) - During times of flooding all throughout Fargo's history, people along the river, their homes, where their businesses were in peril and where was decided that they could sandbag, people heard about that and came to help.

- [Newsman] The key to this sandbagging and diking effort is the volunteers.

- In '97, that was our biggest threat, and we saw all the comradery between all the people and the neighbors.

Everybody was there.

- [Newsman] A half million more bags.

That's the number that these hundreds of volunteers are targeting tonight here at the Fargo Dome.

- I was told that there were 5,000 people coming up from Minneapolis to fill sandbags.

And there were other situations like that all over the city.

We had help everywhere, college kids, the high school kids, all of those people help out.

Well, it was a lot of work, but in the end we survived.

- We had talked about having a Memorial made to the sandbaggers.

The name of the project is spirit of the sandbagger.

The Fargo Lions had a committee.

They issued a request for proposal for a public art project.

I talked to Karen Bakke.

She thought about a while and she came back and she said, "I'll do that".

On the metalworking, I stopped and saw Brock Davis.

(cheerful music) - Mike Benson came to my shop and started the conversation about wanting to build a Memorial Sculpture for the sandbaggers.

And he had some paintings that he'd done, he actually went down to the site and hand painted and drew what his vision was.

I said, you'd tell me what you want and I'll build it for you.

- Brock and I think alike artistically, Mike was analytical.

We needed that balance, and I thought we were the dream team.

(laughing) (camera flashing) Most of these people had a heart in it.

So they were more than willing to do the modeling and I'd bring them in, and we had sandbags and I'd have them throwing sandbags back and forth, trying to get the right pose and trying to get them to be real natural and forget about what I was doing as far as photographing.

After the photos were taken, then I put them in a lineup compositionally for the whole thing as if they're filling the bags, passing them, and then stacking them and with the firemen supervising to make sure that the wall is gonna be a nice strong wall.

I did the sketches and then I worked with the computer, gave my thumb drive to Brock and Brock did his thing.

(metal snicking) - We just started with the bridge structure, the skeleton of it.

Had rolled two by six aluminum rectangular tubing.

And then kind of built what I call a ladder structure with the arch in it.

and then wrapped it with quarter-inch aluminum.

And there we cut out all the silhouettes on the CNC plasma table.

Then Karen and Mike came over, and we set them where Karen had her vision and Mike's vision all come together.

- I can't say enough good things about both of those artists, because we wouldn't have this piece of art if it wasn't for Brock Davis and Karen Bakke.

- Installation days, I always call them "it's time to take the test" day because that's when you take the test, see if you can get where you're supposed to.

I brought the bridge structure down, Industrial Builders used the telehandler to lift it off.

I left right away to go pick up the silhouettes, and was kind of sweating the whole time because they were gonna set it while I was gone.

Once I got back, I saw the bridge structure up on the pillars and the telehandler with the forks on the ground.

And it was a good feeling cause after that it was smooth sailing.

- Working with Brock was a joy.

There was a lot of foot work.

And I was a little concerned about that when we started to get more people involved.

(upbeat music) - I always say, "I'm dreaming with my eyes open".

It's fun, just building, creating.

Never would have guessed that we'd have a structure like that downtown, five, six years ago, when I started this.

- If we ever have another big flood, the only people doing sandbagging downtown are those 21 sandbaggers, and you'll be able to see them over the flood wall.

- Thanks again to the citizens of Fargo and all the people that pitched in.

- The damage that water can do is something that a lot of people underestimate.

But what people can do working together is also something that people underestimate.

- I hope that the community goes down sees it, remembers what their role was and how they helped be a part of that.

If disaster like this comes along, it's a reminder, we work together for the good of everyone.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funded by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008.

And by the members of Prairie Public.