Minot, North Dakota

Minot today, as seen from North Hill

Minot 1966 as seen from North Hill

Minot 1966, as seen from North Hill

Minot, population 36,567, is a city located in north central North Dakota. Minot is the fourth largest city in the state and is the trading centre of a large portion of northern North Dakota, southeastern Saskatchewan, and southwestern Manitoba. It is the county seat of Ward County⁶. Minot is known as the Magic City.

For other things named Minot see Minot (disambiguation)

Geography

Minot is located at in north central North Dakota, at 48°13'59" North latitude , 101°17'32" West longitude. (48.233190, -101.292229)¹. 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.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.7 km² (14.6 mi²). 37.7 km² (14.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The Souris River, its oxbow lakes, and a few creeks take up 0.14% of the city's total landmass.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 36,567 people, 15,520 households, and 9,265 families residing in the city. The population density is 970.4/km² (2,513.1/mi²). There are 16,475 housing units at an average density of 437.2/km² (1,132.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 1.47% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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

In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $32,218, and the median income for a family is $42,804. Males have a median income of $30,283 versus $20,023 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,011. 12.8% of the population and 8.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.0% are under the age of 18 and 8.9% are 65 or older.

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 Apple Valley. 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.

Transportation

Railroads

The railroads that built Minot remain there today, though Great Northern is now part of Burlington Northern Santa Fe 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 local time.

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.

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, North Dakota|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. Northwest from Minot, US 52 crosses the Canadian border at Portal, ND/West 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 has a commercial airport, Minot International, code KMOT. It is serviced three times daily by Northwest Airlines.

Media

Minot has six television stations:

KSRE 6, PBS

KMOT 10, NBC

KXMC 13, CBS

KMCY 14, ABC

K21GQ 21, TBN

KXND 24, Fox/UPN

Only KXMC offers live local news seven days a week. KMOT largely rebroadcasts its Bismarck sister station, KFYR, except for short local news segments on weekdays.

Minot has ten radio stations (7 FM, 3 AM), of which six (including all of the AM stations) are owned by Clear Channel Communications. North Dakota Public Radio operates an FM station, and the remainder are nonprofit Christian stations.

The local newspaper is the Minot Daily News, which publishes seven days a week.

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.

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 can be said to be a deeply divided place. Fierce debates over tax policy, fiscal management, and economic development policy have gripped the city in the past years, and continue to linger.

Major issues include:

Economic Development:

In 1992, Minot created a special tax fund called the MAGIC Fund to provide public subsidies to businesses to start operations in Minot. This fund was supported by 40% of a 1% sales tax levied by the city. The initial creation of the fund established it through 2006.

The MAGIC Fund started to draw criticism for many reasons. Many became dissatisfied with the type of employers coming into the city using MAGIC Fund money, primarily telephone call centers, and their low wages. This was inflamed by high-profile closures of call centers run by Z-Tel and later, WebSmart Interactive.

Another source of criticism dealt with the fiscal management of the MAGIC Fund. By 2001 the MAGIC Fund had exhausted all the funds expected to be collected by the fund's expiration in 2006; this drew allegations that the city diverted tax revenues from other funds to make up the difference.

Early in 2002, a special city election was called, a Yes/No vote on a question of whether or not the city should divert a portion of the NAWS tax revenues to the MAGIC Fund, and if the MAGIC Fund iself should be extended through 2013. The proposition was defeated.

The following mayoral election was hotly contested; current mayor Curt Zimbelman won with a narrow majority of 143 votes out of over 8,000 cast over challenger Steve Huenneke, an economics professor at MSU.

Lately there is talk of a new plan for economic development being put forward by the city leadership and MSU business professor Rod Hewlitt, but details of this "Big Plan" have been sketchy at best.

Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS):

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.

The Canadian Government's issue with this program is that it moves water from the Missouri River basin, which flows south into the US, to the Souris River basin, which flows north into Canada, possibly introducing foreign microbes into the water supply.

The other main issue with the NAWS project is funding; Federal, State, and local dollars have been pledged to the project, but in summer 2003, Federal funds for the project were almost cut, jeopardizing construction.

Minot voters decided in 1998 to levy a 1% sales tax to go towards the construction of NAWS; it is alleged by some that this tax fund was partially diverted towards economic development purposes. A lawsuit on the matter forced the city to redraw its books.

Some worry that NAWS may be a moot point as water levels in Lake Sakakawea continue to fall, that not enough water will be available for use as a result of the project.

Education

Minot's public school system has 10 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and one high school on two campuses. Minot Public Schools also operates an adult learning centre.

For private schools, Minot has a Catholic school system with two elementary schools and a combined middle and high school. There is also a protestant K-12 school.

Minot is also home to Minot State University.

External Links

City of Minot website

Minot Public Schools website

MSU Library online collection on the history of Minot