Why do I Love Minot North Dakota?
We have all learned, or at least been told, NOT to love anything that can not love you back. That's good advice to live by. It's not so much that I love Minot (yuck) but I do love the friendliness of the people in the community.
Minot is a small city of just over 50,000 people. North Dakota, as a whole, is not a diverse community BUT Minot is. The Minot Air Force Base population of 5,494 active duty troops and the families of those Airmen and Misslers plus the support staff that comes with those troops bump that up to 14,624. They all add a lot to the cities diversity. And then there is the constant influx of oil field workers who come from all over the world. It all adds up to you being surprised at Minot's diversity when you walk through the community.
Talk about friendly...
Even in a crowd like this it's all smiles (except that one lady).
In Minot it is highly unusual for people not to greet each other warmly, even in a crowd like this. I think it's part of the isolation caused by our winter months that makes everyone happy to see each other when ever we can get out... summer or winter.
Some words about things that can't love you back.
The terrain: Minot ND is in the Mouse River Valley (Souris River Valley in Canada). At one time many contributaries feed the Mouse right here in Minot causing what we call coulees. These coulees hold a large abundance of wildlife, most notable are the deer and turkeys. If you like wildlife and don't want to travel out of town to see it, it's right here in town. The coulees also offer natural beauty as they are totally ungroomed with a wide variety of indigenous trees and shrubbery.
The Mouse River itself adds it's own beauty to the area. While it is not a river one would want to swim in (it's a muddy river) it does offer in town fishing opportunities. Due to various past flood control projects there are many "dead loops" around the valley that also harbor beautiful wild life.
The Arts: The City and the University strongly back all art projects plus we have a very active arts council, Minot Area Council of the Arts (MACA). When I was on the board we rallied the community to bring in an organization known as ArtSpace. In order to bring them in we had to construt a building to hold a learning space, gallery, and lofts for artists. The building we (MACA) built was the first new building downtown in 30 years.
Events: Minot North Dakota hosts the largest event in the State (The ND State Fair) and shortly after that event we host the largest North American festival celebrating Scandinavian heritage (The North Hostfest).
There is so much more to tell you about Minot but I will leave you with this:
The Food! It's amazing that a small city like Minot would not only have almost any ethnic food imaginable BUT there are so many that are absolutely top notch!
If you have any questions about Minot ND I will be happy to answer them for you, just give me a call.
This post is in response to the challenge brought forth by Debe Maxwell, CRS , What’s Love Got to do with It? Celebrate the Beauty of Your City in AR’s February 2023 Challenge.
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