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For other things named Minot see Minot (disambiguation).

Minot (IPA , ) is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. With 36,567 people, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state. The city is the county seat of Ward County and the trading center of a large portion of northern North Dakota, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. Minot is also known as the Magic City. Minot was founded in 1886.

Geography

Minot is located in north central North Dakota, at (48.233190, -101.292229). Minot is located about 170 km (100 mi) north of Bismarck, 300 km (200 mi) west of Grand Forks and 400 km (250 mi) northwest of Fargo and southeast of Regina, Saskatchewan.

The city is on the Souris River (also known as the Mouse River), some 30 km from its southernmost point near Velva. It eventually turns northwest and meets with the Assiniboine River .

According to the Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.7 km² (14.6 mi²). It is almost entirely land; the Souris River, its oxbow lakes, and a few creeks take up just 0.14% of the city's total landmass.

The elevation near the river the city centre the elevation is 474 m (1556 ft). The valley sits some 50 meters below the surrounding plains; the elevation at the Minot International Airport on North Hill is 523 m (1716 ft).

Grid and address system

The city is laid on a grid-based street system. Streets run North-South and Avenues run East-West. Streets are numbered by their block distance east or west of Main Street. Similarly, Avenues are numbered north and south of Central Avenue. There are four city quadrants (NW, SW, SE, NE) to describe the exact location of any given address. Main Street addresses are simply designated North and South. Central Avenue addresses are simply designated East and West.

Examples:

515 2nd Avenue SW (City Hall) is located a little more than five blocks west of Main Street on 2nd Avenue South.

3515 16th St SW (the Minot YMCA) is located 35 blocks south of Central Avenue on 16th Street West.

Major streets

North-South

East-West
  • 21st Avenue North
  • University Avenue
  • 4th, 3rd, 5th, Railway Avenue
  • The Quentin N. Burdick Expressway (Bus. US 2/52)
  • 11th Avenue South
  • 20th Avenue South
  • 32nd Avenue South

City districts

The City of Minot has a number of distinct regions. Here's a partial listing.

Major divisions

The Souris River, also known as the Mouse River, divides the city approximately in half, north and south. The valley rises to the plains both north and south of the river. Minot does not have particular names for these general topographic divisions of the city. The Valley is simply the Valley (or not called anything at all). The northern rise and the plateau north of it is referred to as North Hill and the southern rise and plateau south of it is referred to as South Hill.

Commercial Areas

Minot has several commercial areas, the first of which is Broadway (US Highway 83) itself, the main north-south trunk route.

Downtown - generally refers to the area bounded by Broadway, 3rd Street East, Central Avenue, and Burdick Expressway, though the immediate vicinity is often also included.

Southwest Minot - There is a major shopping district along 16th Street SW south of the 2/52/83 bypass, including Dakota Square Mall, Wal-Mart, and various other shops.

The Arrowhead Mall is located at Central Avenue and 16th Street West. Oak Park Center is nearby, along 4th Avenue NW. There is also Town and Country Center, located at Broadway and 11th Avenue SW.

Neighborhoods

More specific named divisions tend to be upscale residential areas. These include Bel-Air, which is the area north of 4th Avenue NW and west of 16th Street NW and includes Bel-Air Elementary School, Eastwood Park, which is southwest of Roosevelt Park and north of Burdick Expressway along 7th and 8th Streets SE, and Terracita Vallejo which is actually outside of the city, west of the US 83 bypass but north of US 2/52.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,567 people, 15,520 households, and 9,265 families residing in the city. The population density was 970.4/km² (2,513.1/mi²). There were 16,475 housing units at an average density of 437.2/km² (1,132.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.18% White, 1.34% African American, 2.76% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population.

The top 6 ancestry groups in the city are German (40.8%), Norwegian (32.3%), Irish (8.7%), English (5.4%), Swedish (4.2%), French (3.2%).

There were 15,520 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,218, and the median income for a family was $42,804. Males had a median income of $30,283 versus $20,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,011. About 8.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

Minot came into existence in 1886, when Jim Hill's Great Northern Railroad ended its push through the state for the winter, after having trouble constructing a trestle across Gassman Coulee. A tent town sprung up over night, as if by magic, thus the city came to be known as the Magic City.

The townsite was chosen by the railroad to be placed on the land of then-homesteader Erik Ramstad. Mr. Ramstad was convinced to relinquish his claim, and became one of the city leaders.

The town was named after Henry Davis Minot, a railroad investor and friend of Jim Hill. The city was incorporated on 28 June 1887.

Later, the Soo Line was building a line from Valley City up to Canada. While initially their plan was to cross the Souris River some distance from Minot, local interests convinced them otherwise; landholders along the new route gladly donated the right-of-way. They reached Minot in 1893.

Minot was a typical western boom town in its early years, with its share of vice and lawlessness. During Prohibition the city became known as "Little Chicago", as it was a central hub of Al Capone's liquor smuggling operations. Smugglers used a network of underground tunnels (some of which were previously built for heating or deliveries) to transport and conceal the illicit cargo. Some of the tunnels can still be accessed.

The 1950s saw the construction of the Minot Air Force Base, an Air Defense Command Base that later became a Strategic Air Command bomber & Minuteman missile base. Not far away, Garrison Dam was built on the Missouri River.

In 1969, a severe flood on the Souris River devastated the city. Afterward, the Army Corps of Engineers straightened the path of the river through the city and built several flood control structures.

On January 18, 2002, a severe train derailment west of the city sent a gigantic cloud of anhydrous ammonia toward the city. One person died and many of the city's citizen were sickened and severely injured by the toxic gas. In early 2006, court cases were heard in Minneapolis, Minnesota against Canadian Pacific Railway, the owner of the derailed train. Several cases have been settled and many others are pending.

Transportation

Railroads

The railroads that built Minot remain there today, though Great Northern is now part of the BNSF Railway and the Soo Line is run by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Passenger rail transportation is provided daily on Amtrak's Empire Builder line. Trains make a 20-minute refueling stop in Minot; Westbound trains arrive about 9:00 am local time. Eastbound trains arrive about 9:00pm.

Highways

Three US Highways run through the city: US 2, US 52, and US 83.

US 2 runs East-West. It is a four-lane highway from Minot east to Grand Forks and largely two lanes from Minot west to Williston. In February 2004 it was announced that Highway 2 would be expanded to four lanes between Minot and Williston by 2008.

US 83 runs North-South. It is a four-lane highway from Minot south to Bismarck and north to Minot Air Force Base. Past the Air Force Base the road reduces to two lanes. US 83 crosses the Canadian border at Westhope, ND, where it becomes Manitoba Highway 83.

US 52 runs Southeast-Northwest. Southeast from Minot, US 52 follows a slightly circuitous route to Jamestown, where it meets up with Interstate 94. Highway 52 merges with Interstate 94 after Jamestown going east to Fargo. Northwest from Minot, US 52 crosses the Canadian border at Portal, ND/North Portal, SK, where it becomes Saskatchewan Highway 39.

Minot has a bypass for these routes around the south and west sides of the city.

Airport

Minot International Airport is served by Northwest Airlines three times daily, four times daily in peak periods. Until the early 1990s, it was also served by Denver-based Frontier Airlines and Frontier's successor, Continental Airlines, then, briefly, by the new iteration of Frontier. Airport officials are constantly looking for additional service, both from Northwest and other airlines, but such efforts have proved fruitless so far.

Within the city

Automobiles dominate intracity and local area transport. There is limited fixed-route city transit service (Minot City Transit) on weekdays, and flexible-route rural transit service (Souris Basin Transportation) on an occasional basis. Local transit services for the elderly and disabled (Minot Commission on Aging Transit) meet federal guidelines but have 24-hour advance notice requirements.

Pedestrianism is the exception rather than the rule; though decent enough downtown, the sidewalk network is poor in many areas of the city, though improving. Automobile drivers take the right of way at all but the best-marked crosswalks, and major points are often separated by relatively large distances and hill slopes. Skateboarding is illegal in streets and on sidewalks (though there is a skating area in Roosevelt Park), and rollerblading is generally disallowed by downtown landowners.

Media

Minot has several media outlets but little local content. KXMC-TV and the Minot Daily News, and to a lesser extent, KMOT-TV, are somewhat active in collecting local news, while KCJB-AM, and KHRT-AM have some local news content, but do not actively collect it.

Aside from some local news programming, virtually no mass media content originates from Minot. The local media tends to rebroadcast Bismarck television stations and republish network and wire reports rather than maintain a strong local focus.

Television

Minot has six television stations, most of which have ATSC (digital) transmitters:

Local News
KXMC offers live local news seven days a week. KMOT offers limited local coverage on weekdays but mostly rebroadcasts newscasts from its Bismarck sister station, KFYR.

KMCY and KXND do not produce newscasts but insert local commercials into feeds shared with their Bismarck sister stations. KSRE has no local content of any kind, broadcasting Prairie Public Television.

Cable Television
Midcontinent Communications provides cable service to the city of Minot and Minot Air Force Base. Souris River Telecommunications provides cable service to other nearby communities.

Midcontinent offers a Bismarck-originating The WB cable station, KWMK, on channel 14, as well as KMSU (a cable station operated by the Minot State University broadcasting department) on channel 19.

Radio

Minot has fifteen radio stations (12 FM, 3 AM), of which six (including two of the AM stations) are owned by Clear Channel Communications. The Clear Channel stations are KIZZ, KYYX, KXMA, KZPR, KCJB, and KRRZ, along with KFYR and KXMR in Bismarck. Bottineau-based Programmers Broadcasting owns KTZU and KWGO, along with KBTO of Bottineau. North Dakota Public Radio operates a full power FM station, a community broadcaster based in nearby Burlington, ND operates a low-power FM station, and the remainder are nonprofit Christian stations, of which only KHRT is based locally.

Clear Channel has been blamed for placing its stations on autopilot and resulting failure to warn area residents not to go outside when an ammonia tanker derailed on 18 January 2002. Clear Channel owned all of the commercial radio stations in Minot at the time. One man died and dozens were injured attempting to flee the area while Clear Channel continued to play its satellite feeds.

AM band

FM band

Other stations
Additionally, the following stations are not based in Minot but generally have a clear signal into town:

Print

The principal local newspaper is the Minot Daily News, which publishes seven days a week. Morgan Printing produces the Lunch Letter three days a week on a double-sided leaflet. There are also two weekly classified-ad publications, the Trading Post, printed by the Daily News, and The Finder, printed by the Bismarck Tribune. The Bismarck Tribune is available at several outlets in the city, as is The Forum, to a lesser extent.

Politics

The mayor of Minot is Curt Zimbelman, a banker. As mayor he chairs the 14-member City Council, but only casts a vote to break a tie. The day-to-day affairs of the city are handled by the City Manager, currently David Waind.

While the city's leadership has been trending towards the conservative, Minot's liberal factions have been active in recent years and have had somewhat more success than in other areas of the state.

Government

Minot uses the Council-manager system of government. Fourteen councilmen are elected from 7 city wards to four-year terms. Elections are arranged such that one councilman from each ward is elected in every even-numbered year. The mayor of Minot is elected to a four-year term as well; the last mayoral election was in 2002. All city offices are nonpartisan.

City elections are held in June in North Dakota, along with the state primary election.

Policy

Minot's civic realm includes a number of debates over taxes, fiscal management, and economic development policy.

Major issues include:

Economic development
Main article: MAGIC Fund

In recent years, economic development has become a significant issue in the city of Minot. The city created the publicly-financed MAGIC Fund in 1992 to provide financial incentives for businesses, but a series of debacles made the operations of the fund a significant issue in the 2002 city elections.

Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS)
Main article: Northwest Area Water Supply
The Northwest Area Water Supply is slightly less controversial among residents of Minot and area, however, it has attracted the ire of the Canadian government because the plan calls for water to be pumped from Lake Sakakawea, then to Minot for treatment, and then on to large stretches of Northwest North Dakota.

Minot voters decided in 1998 to levy a 1% sales tax to go towards the construction of NAWS; this tax fund was found in court to have been illegally diverted towards economic development purposes. A lawsuit was filed against the city and it was ordered to return the misappropriated funds to the NAWS fund. By that time, the money had already been spent, and the city instead voted to issue a special assessment on city water bills to raise the funds.

NAWS may be a moot point as water levels in Lake Sakakawea continue to fall; it is possible that not enough water will be available for use when the project is complete.

Economy

The city's economy is more robust than other cities of its size due to its large service area; however, it is beset by significant problems with enterprise capital and wage standards. About 30% of Minot residents work two or more jobs, and two-thirds of households earn less than the national median household income.

A Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index listed Minot as the most affordable area of 348 markets in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico for homebuyers.

Culture

Minot's midwestern setting and attitudes sometimes hides its sizable and sometimes flamboyant arts community. Minot has an art museum, a symphony orchestra and a city band, several dance and theatre troupes, a youth/punk concert organization, the AMP, and much more; over 40 organizations claim membership in the Minot Area Council on the Arts, and even more exist.

The attitudes of the people themselves run the gamut. Many are of the opinion that they do not wish to remain in the area any longer than they have to; while others are taken by what the city is today, or what it could be in the future if they applied themselves.

Nearly 40% of the residents of Minot are of Scandinavian ancestry, and every October since 1977, Minot has been the host to the Norsk Høstfest, North America's largest Scandinavian-American festival.

Sister cities

Minot maintains a sister city relationship with the Norwegian city of Skien. Some note the irony in that Skien is the center the of county of Telemark, while Minot has become a center for telemarketing.

Minot is also a sister city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In connection with the "Little Chicago" civic tourism initiative, there are plans to brand the road between the cities (US 52/SK 39) as the Rum Runner Highway, to emphasize its role in prohibition-era smuggling.

Moose Jaw and Minot are strikingly similar: they are of approximately the same size (Moose Jaw's population is about 35,000) and both began their existences as railway and agricultural service communities bisected by marshallilng yards and rivers. Both have good, if under-rated post-secondary educational institutions (Minot State University and the Palliser Campus of the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology) and are built on the hills flanking broad river valleys. Both cities have had to grapple with fading downtowns, but have fought back with imaginative rejuvenation programs. Finally, both cities are home to military air bases.

Sites of interest

Recreation

The Minot Park District operates 17 parks with various facilities; Corbett Field, home to American Legion, high school and college baseball; Optimist soccer complex; MAYSA ice arena; the Sertoma Complex which has 8 softball fields; Souris Valley Golf Course, and an indoor tennis complex.

The city's largest parks are Roosevelt Park and Oak Park. Roosevelt Park Zoo is one of the top zoos in the region. Dogs are not allowed in any of the city parks. A "bark park" for dogs opened in the summer of 2005.

The North Dakota State Fair is held annually in Minot.

Apple Grove Grove Golf Course, and Souris Valley Golf Course are located in Minot.

Education

The Minot Public School District has 10 elementary schools located in the city; Bel Air, Edison, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Longfellow, McKinley, Roosevelt, Perkett, Sunnyside, and Washington. Jefferson Elementary was closed in 2003. There are also two elementary schools on the Minot Air Force Base, Dakota and North Plains.

There are two middle schools in the city, Jim Hill and Erik Ramstad. Memorial Middle School is located on the Minot Air Force Base.

There is one high school on two campuses: Minot High School - Central Campus (for grades 9 and 10) and Minot High School - Magic City Campus (for grades 11 and 12).

Minot Public Schools also operates an adult learning center and Souris River Campus, an alternative high school.

For private schools, Minot has a Catholic school system with two elementary schools, St. Leo's and Little Flower, and a combined middle and high school, Bishop Ryan. There is also a protestant K-12 school, Our Redeemer's Christian School.

Minot is also home to Minot State University.

Notable people from Minot

External links

Wikitravel has a Minot.

1887 establishments | All-America City | Major cities in North Dakota | Micropolitan areas of North Dakota | Minot, North Dakota | Ward County, North Dakota

Minot (Dakota du Nord) | Minot | Minot | Minot | Minot | Minot (Dakota do Norte)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Minot, North Dakota".

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