Magic Find the

Imoved to the Northern Plains from Idaho’s Magic Valley, not realizing North Dakota had its own magic community. It does.

The west-central community of Minot, nicknamed “The Magic City,” reminds me of my previous home in Idaho. Both places get their nicknames from past events. For instance, Idaho’s Magic Valley was named after early settlers learned to harness the underground aquifers and water from the Snake River and turned an arid landscape into a fertile agriculture valley. As if by magic, the desert blossomed as the rose.

North Dakota’s Magic City sprung up when a railway construction crew set up its winter camp and the population it attracted ever after, turning it into a progressive Midwestern city. Another magic moment in history. There was no wizardry involved in either place, just a lot of vision, determination, and hard work.

Each origin story has its place in the historical records of their state, but I have found that the real magic of both places is their people.

This was reinforced when I visited Minot for the first time on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Prairie Business staff met with several community and business leaders, gleaning from their insight and passion about the area they are working hard to sustain and promote.

We were thrilled to learn about some of the community’s priorities and projects.

You can read more about Minot in our cover story, “Rediscovering the Magic of Minot,” and another piece about one of the community’s construction projects, a spacious health campus that Trinity Health is building.

Keep reading, in this issue we also have articles on trends in technology and real estate, as well as a story about what one North Dakota college is doing – and why – to become a polytechnical institution.

The articles in this issue were prepared before the world went crazy with the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot has changed since then, making it even more important for us to find hope and magic in these uncertain times. But I still believe there is magic all around us, in North Dakota and elsewhere. It’s up to us to find it, add a little something of our own charm to it, and experience the results.

That’s what the people of Minot have done and continue to do. I wish the same for you, wherever you’re reading. Stay well.

Until next time, Andrew Weeks

I look forward to hearing from you at aweeks@prairiebusinessmagazine.com or 701-780-1276.

PUBLISHER KORRIE WENZEL

AD DIRECTOR STACI LORD

EDITOR

ANDREW WEEKS

CIRCULATION MANAGER BETH BOHLMAN

LAYOUT DESIGN SARA SLABY

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NICHOLE ERTMAN 800.477.6572 ext. 1162 nertman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

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Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand Forks Herald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 375 2nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Subscriptions are available free of charge. Back issue quantities are limited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). The opinions of writers featured in Prairie Business are their own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

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