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Minnesota/North Dakota Private Sector News Update

Issue II, April 24, 2009

This E-News Update includes information on federal and state resources available to help Minnesota and North Dakota business owners and their employees recover from the floods. We welcome your comments, questions, good stories, and suggested topics. Please send emails to FEMAPrivateSector-DR1830MN@dhs.gov for Minnesota, and for North Dakota Recovery to FEMAPrivateSector-DR1829ND@dhs.gov.

Situational Update

MINNESOTA:

On April 10, 2009, the major disaster declaration was amended to include FEMA Individual Assistance for eligible business owners, homeowners and renters in Clay, Norman, Traverse and Wilkin counties. The initial declaration was approved by President Obama on April 9, 2009 for Public Assistance for seven counties and for mitigation statewide. Eight additional counties were added for Public Assistance on April 14, and another 12 counties and the White Earth Tribal Reservation were added on April 22. More counties may be designated after the assessments are completed. As of April 22, more than $1.2 million in financial assistance has begun to flow to residents who suffered damages from severe storms and flooding beginning March 16 and continuing.

NORTH DAKOTA:

Counties declared for Individual Assistance are Adams, Barnes, Billings, Burleigh, Cass, Dickey, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, Griggs, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Mercer, Morton, Nelson, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill and Williams. Federal and state officials are working together to address the needs of communities, including Valley City, Jamestown and Lisbon, in the southeast part of North Dakota to assist in local flood-fighting efforts.

UPDATES:

For more information, please visit: http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=11268. You can also follow FEMA's flood response on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femaregion8.

Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance

Often the first step to recovery is making sure your employees are ready and able to come back to work. In counties designated for Individual Assistance, homeowners and renters can apply for FEMA assistance.  To apply by phone, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY 1-800-462-7585) during the hours of 6 a.m. to 12 midnight CDT.  Multi-lingual operators are available.  The toll-free number and hours of operation are the same for both states. Or apply online at www.disasterassistance.gov. Online registration is available any time.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is a form of federal disaster assistance for individuals that provides temporary income assistance to both workers --- including farmers and ranchers --- and self-employed individuals whose work has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of a major disaster and would not otherwise be eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits. People who were scheduled to begin work but were not able to due to the disaster are also eligible, as well as persons residing outside a designated county whose employment was affected in a designated county.

Minnesota:Residents of Clay, Norman, Traverse, and Wilkins are eligible for DUA. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 15, 2009.  To apply for DUA, please log onto www.uimn.org.

North Dakota: Residents in Adams, Barnes, Billings, Burleigh, Cass, Dickey, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, Griggs, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Mercer, Morton, Nelson, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill and Williams are eligible for assistance. The claims period began March 13; deadline to apply is May 13.  DUA can be filed either by completing the form(s) that are under the Disaster Unemployment link on www.jobsnd.com and returning the form(s) to Job Service by mail or fax. Claims also may be filed by calling Job Service North Dakota at 701-328-1630, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Visit a Local Disaster Recovery Center

Applicants are not required to visit a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). However, a visit to a DRC provides an opportunity for residents to meet face-to-face with representatives from state and federal agencies and find answers to questions they may have about the recovery process. The DRC is staffed by FEMA, SBA, and other federal and non-profit agencies.

MINNESOTA:

As of April 15, Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) have opened in Moorhead and Breckenridge. The DRC is staffed by FEMA, SBA, and other federal and non-profit agencies.

MOORHEAD   

Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Higher Education Community Center
1110 14th St. S (Corner of 14th St. S and 12th Ave.)
Moorhead, Minnesota 56560    
Hours: Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.;
Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.;

HENDRUM

Hendrum Fire Hall
309 Main Street E.
Hendrum, MN 56550
DRC closes on Thursday, April 30
Hours: Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.;
Sunday April 26 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
Thursday April 30 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.;

NORTH DAKOTA:

As of April 27, 2009 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) opened in six locations. The DRCs are staffed by FEMA, the SBA and other federal and state agencies, and are open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays, until further notice.

BISMARCK

Gateway Fashion Mall 
2700 State Street, Suite F5
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501

FARGO      

Cass County Court House Annex
1010 Second Ave. S
Fargo, North Dakota 58108

LINTON    

Linton Community Center
101 First St. NE
Linton, North Dakota 58552

BEULAH      

Beulah Civic Center
120 7th Street NE
Beulah, North Dakota 58525

WAHPETON

Wahpeton Fire Department, Northside Station
1065 16th Ave. North
Wahpeton, Richland County 58075

VALLEY CITY

Barnes County Courthouse (basement)
230 4th Street NW
Valley City, Barnes County 58072

SBA Business Disaster Loans

Disaster loans for uncompensated losses due to physical damage are available to all eligible applicants in counties declared for Individual Assistance:

Business owners may also receive support from SBA Customer Service Representatives at any Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in North Dakota and Minnesota.  The SBA Business Recovery Centers are specially designed to provide a wide range of services to businesses physically and economically impacted by the flooding.

MINNESOTA:

Minnesota State University-Moorhead
Small Business Development Center
Center for Business, Suite 115
1104 Seventh Ave. S
Moorhead, Minnesota 56563
Mondays through Saturdays: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

NORTH DAKOTA:

West Acres Shopping Center
3902 13th Avenue South, Suite 5237
Fargo, North Dakota 58103
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays: 9 am to 6 pm
Wednesdays: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

After registering with FEMA, applicants may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.  For more information, applicants may contact the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov  or visiting the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.  Hearing impaired individuals may call (800) 877‑8339.

How to Contract Your Services with FEMA

Wondering how to get government contract work to support the Minnesota or North Dakota recovery and ongoing activities? The first step is to register your business with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database at http://www.ccr.gov/ and then contact FEMA's Industry Liaison Service Center (ILSC) to understand how to do business with FEMA. You can contact the ILSC at (202) 646-1895 or via email at FEMA-Industry@dhs.gov.

Last Modified: Friday, 24-Apr-2009 17:39:37 EDT