FARGO-MOORHEAD – Cass County Commissioner Tony Grindberg has been named the Chair of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority Board.
“After having worked on the funding end of things more than a decade ago, it’s rewarding to come back in a new leadership role at a time when the focus is shifting to operations and maintenance,” Grindberg said. “With more than half of the construction work now completed on the FM Area Diversion, this year will be focused on pushing that percentage higher while also beginning to shift completed components to the O&M stage.”
Grindberg was the board’s vice chairman in 2024. He also worked on flood protection in the North Dakota Legislature as a State Senator serving South Fargo. He led the effort to pass the initial $450 million in state funding included in the Water Commission budget. As a Fargo City Commissioner, Grindberg chaired the MFDA Finance Committee and helped outline a clear plan to secure another $300 million in state and federal funding through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and North Dakota.
Grindberg replaces Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson as chair. She will continue to be on the board and it’s finance and planning committees.
“More visible progress than ever before was made this past year on the FM Area Diversion project, and I’m proud to have played a small role in that major accomplishment,” said Carlson, who also chaired the Board in 2021. “We had dozens of individual components under construction this year, a multitude of which were completed. There are still challenges ahead that we as a Board, alongside our many partners, will face as we move toward permanent, reliable flood protection for the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, but we’ve overcome more challenges than many thought possible when this project was in its infancy. I’m excited to witness the progress 2025 will bring.”
Board membership has also changed. Cass County Commissioners Duane Breitling and Jim Kapitan are replacing former Cass County Commissioners Chad Peterson and Mary Scherling.
