8-1-12 (St. Paul, MN)  --  Governor Dayton paints a grim picture in a lengthy letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, appealing its denial of individual assistance for flood-stricken homeowners and businesses in northeast Minnesota.  Dayton calls it "one of the worst natural disasters in Minnesota's history," likely a 500-year flood, with 93 percent of affected homeowners without flood insurance.  The governor says "many victims are beginning to believe that abandoning their homes is their only option."  The governor says requirements for individual assistance for the disaster are simply beyond the state's capability and, without federal assistance many Minnesotans, especially the elderly and disadvantaged, will "suffer intolerably."