Objective:

The MinDak Upstream Coalition commissioned a survey to get a better understanding of the publicsentiment of Moorhead, Minnesota voters towards the proposed Fargo-Moorhead Red River Diversion.405 Moorhead residents responded to the survey focusing on public opinion of local and state leaders aswell as gauging concerns around impacts of the project including costs, environmental effects, andattitudes on the economic outlook for the communities of Fargo and Moorhead. Calls were conductedduring the week of May 19th-26th .

Key Findings

Local Leadership. Overall the Mayor of Moorhead Del Rae Williams has an approval rating of 44% acrossthe community. However when asked specifically on her handling of the Diversion, Mayor Williamssupport erodes with only 25% approving of the way she is handling the issue.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Del Rae Williams is handling her job as Mayor ofMoorhead?

Approve 44%Disapprove/Unsure 56%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Mayor Williams is handling the proposed FM Diversion?

Approve 25%Disapprove/Unsure 75%

Furthermore when asked how concerned Moorhead local leaders should be about the proposeddiversion regarding impacts to rural Minnesota, 43% responded in saying leaders should be VeryConcernedand 48% responded saying they should be Somewhat Concerned.

How concerned should Mayor Williams and Moorhead city council members be about the FMDiversions potential impacts to rural Minnesota very concerned, somewhat concerned, not tooconcerned, or not concerned at all?

Very concerned 43%Somewhat concerned 48%Not too concerned 7.5%Not concerned at all 1.5%

Recent Federal Court Ruling.

The poll commenced on the heels of Federal Judgesruling halting construction of a ring dike in thecommunity of Oxbow. The survey identified wide and strong support for the ruling with 55% approvingof the decision against 26% disagreeing with the decision. When asked if the entire project should behalteduntil community disputes havebeen resolved, again we found broad support for moving moreslowly on the project with 66% stating they favor settling disputes before moving forward.

We also looked at public awareness around a Dam that would be constructed to the south ofFargo/Moorhed and found that 53% of Moorhead residents were NOT aware that the project included aDam.

Do you agree or disagree with the judges ruling?

Agree 55%

Disagree - 26%

Unsure 19%

Do you feel that construction of the proposed FM Diversion should be halted until the disputes withsurrounding communities are resolved?

Yes 66%

No32%Unsure 2%

Are you aware that the FM Diversion project includes the construction of a dam on the Red Riverdirectly south of Fargo and Moorhead?

Yes - 47%No - 53%

Benefits for the Communities of Fargo and Moorhead.

Finally, we wanted to test perceptions of which community will benefit the most from a completedFargo/Moorhead Diversion within the community of Moorhead. The results show a clear sentiment thatFargo will reap the benefits of having a Red River Diversion with 63% stating the Fargo will benefit most,compared to 2% saying Moorhead will benefit more from the diversion.

As the plan is currently proposed, which community do you think will benefit more from the FMDiversion?

Moorhead 2%Fargo 63%Both communities will equally benefit 35%