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About half of 200,000 sandbag goal has been reached at Sandbag Cass

Volunteers use a spider machine to efficiently fill sandbags before loading them onto palettes in West Fargo.
D. Webster
Volunteers use a spider machine to efficiently fill sandbags before loading them onto palettes in West Fargo.

Organizers say afternoon and evening shifts are still available for volunteers.

Organizers say volunteers are just about halfway to their goal of filling 200,000 sandbags at Sandbag Cass in West Fargo.

Blaine Laaveg is Cass County Highway Superintendent, and was overseeing volunteer efforts today. He says this morning 8th graders from Carl Ben Eielson Middle School were staffing one of the spider machines, which can make about 6,000 sandbags per hour. He says student volunteers make up most of the morning shifts, and there are still openings throughout the afternoons and evenings this week.

"Tuesday we started off, well, we had a good day. And then yesterday we really made up some ground, so - we are at about half of what we want total here, in the two days. So hopefully by today and tomorrow we can see where we're at, and wrap things up before the weekend."

Volunteers are filling 115,000 sandbags for Cass County, 80,000 for the city of Fargo and 5,000 for West Fargo. Laaveg says he is confident those goals will be easily met.

Volunteers can sign up by visiting casscountynd.gov/volunteer. Sandbag Cass is located at the Cass County Highway Department at 1201 Main Avenue in West Fargo.