Dear Minot:
It’s been quite a year for Minot. During the past 365 days, a lot has happened that will shape our community for years – and in some cases decades - to come. In the spirit of Christmas, let’s unwrap some of the major presents that made 2023 such an outstanding year.
Fire Station 5 opens in northwest Minot. The addition of this new station is already paying benefits; response times are down 11 percent since Station 5 opened, proving that Fire Chief Kelli Kronschnabel and others who pushed for this station were right about its positive impact on improving the fire protection for our community.
Trinity Hospital opens new medical campus in southwest Minot. This new facility will not only improve health care for the Minot community, but also for the residents of north central North Dakota. Trinity’s massive investment in Minot will pay dividends for decades to come as our community continues to expand and become a more resilient city.
Magic City Discovery Center opens its doors. This project has been in the works for many years, and in the spring of 2023, finally came to fruition with a grand opening. This facility will no doubt serve as a major learning center for children in Minot and the surrounding communities, and will be a destination spot that attracts more visitors to Minot.
The City transitioned into a new City Hall after renovating the former Wells Fargo building in downtown Minot. The move brought more City departments under the same roof, including Information Technology, Public Information, and the Assessor’s offices that were previously located elsewhere. The central location also makes City Hall more convenient and accessible to the general public.
The Barksdale Trophy once again makes its home in Minot. The Barksdale Trophy is awarded to the community that provides the highest level of support to an Air Force base in the Air Force Global Strike Command over the previous 24 months. Minot also won the trophy in 2019. We’re proud of our community’s relationship with Minot AFB, and the Barksdale Trophy only reinforces what we already know: Minot and Minot AFB are critical to each other’s success and future growth.
It’s been another outstanding year for Minot athletic programs. Minot High School won the Class AAA football championship in 2023, the program’s first title since 1980. Minot High won its sixth straight boys swimming championship, and the MHS girls soccer team won its third straight state championship. MHS also won state championships in cheer and bowling in 2023. At the collegiate level, Minot State University won the ACHA Division 1 National Hockey Championship, the program’s third national championship
Minot has officially accepted the Metropolitan City designation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a city, we’ve been working on this for years. The designation entitles Minot to direct annual appropriations of appropriated federal grants through the Community Block Grant program; the allocations will begin in 2024. Reaching the 50,000 level of population also benefits Minot in working with national retailers.
Work continues on the Minot North campus on north hill. The Minot Public School District’s second public high school is on track to open in the fall of 2024. The project includes renovations at Magic City Campus to accommodate four grades instead of two, and changes will take place at Central Campus to transition the downtown facility into a middle school.
The City’s first curbside recycling program began in July. After years of debate and discussion, the program collects recyclable material that is then shipped to a Minnesota facility, where it’s sorted and sold. The program’s first six months have been successful, taking an average of roughly 90 tons of materials out of the garbage stream and out of Minot’s landfill.
All of these presents will have lasting impacts on our community. Obviously, there were many more success stories in 2023, but our hypothetical Christmas tree simply isn’t big enough for all the packages. But make no mistake: 2023 was a very good year for Minot as a community, and we’re heading in the right direction for an even better 2024. A year from now, we’ll have no problem creating another list of success stories. I’m already looking forward to it.
On behalf of everyone at the City of Minot, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
You can find more about what’s happening at the City of Minot at minotnd.org, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. We’d also encourage you to sign up for our monthly electronic newsletter on our website.