Glenn Beck has developed something of a phobia about citizens receiving government aid -- and a propensity for overlooking the fact that some of the folks he likes to portray as living in his idealized America are receiving it anyway.

First, it was Wilmington, Ohio, which Beck asserted “hasn't taken any money from the government” following the closure of the town's biggest employer. In fact, Wilmington and the county it's located in received $13 million in stimulus and emergency funds, and was seeking a $1.5 million federal earmark to refurbish the theater from which Beck did his show late last year.

Then, earlier this month, Beck suggested that tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri, had rejected federal aid. In fact, FEMA responded to the disaster immediately, and state officials praised the federal response.

On the June 28 edition of his radio show, Beck suggested that flooding victims in Minot, North Dakota, didn't need federal aid: “When our town is in trouble like Joplin, will we be strong enough, like Minot, North Dakota, with the floods. There's no cries for FEMA. Ten thousand people displaced. Where are they? Where are they? They're with family and friends.”

Beck is misleading his listeners yet again.

News reports have indicated that demand for public shelters from the flooding has been low. However, the Minot area had been preparing for flooding since April, which gave residents plenty of time to make alternative plans.

When the current round of flooding began in early June, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) stated on June 2 that he was “calling for additional federal resources to help North Dakotans protect their communities from rising flood waters. Conrad added: ”Having seen the impact of the flooding in Minot and the preparations underway in Bismarck and Mandan, I felt it was important to stress the urgency of the situation to our leaders in Washington. ... They need to know how serious the situation is and the challenges we face here on the ground. We need to work together -- at the local, state and federal levels -- to make it through the long haul."

Meanwhile, FEMA itself was preparing. From a June 3 FEMA blog post:

• We've been working closely with our state and federal partners since this winter, in anticipation of a busy spring and summer flood season.

• FEMA currently has a liaison in the Montana emergency operations center, a state liaison team in the Nebraska state emergency operations center to support the state in sheltering support and other requests as it responds to ongoing flooding; and an open field office in Bismarck, N.D., and Pierre, S.D., responding to ongoing and potential flooding. We have also been assisting the state of Wyoming with planning, through a team of liaisons at the state emergency operations center.

As the record flooding hit Minot, the Minot Daily News reported that, according to Conrad, “North Dakota's request for homeowner assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is being expedited to get aid to Minot residents as quickly as possible.” Since then, according to the Daily News, FEMA employees were “standing outside restaurants and approaching people in grocery stores Monday, making a concerted effort to see that Ward County residents affected by the Souris River flood get registered for assistance.” Further, Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) announced on June 26 that the Small Business Administration will also be assisting victims by offering low-interest disaster loans.

If there are “no cries for FEMA” in Minot, as Beck claims, it's probably because FEMA is already there, and those who need federal aid are in the process of receiving it.