Opponents of Red River Diversion Head to Court

Opponents of a planned Red River diversion project around Fargo and Moorhead say they’re happy to finally get their day in court.

A hearing is scheduled Monday in federal court in Minneapolis to discuss whether the complaint has merit.

The $2 billion dollar channel is designed to move water around the flood-prone Fargo metro, but would need a staging area south of the city to store water in times of serious flooding.

A group representing about 20 upstream cities and townships filed a lawsuit in 2013 asking for a cheaper project that doesn’t flood farmland.