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held in Langdon The official newspaper of Cavalier County Theborderlandpress.com
Friday, March 8, 2024
Volume 3, Number 9
MANITOBA BORDER TOWNS OFFER LESSONS FOR N.D. DEVELOPMENT
In this issue:
Targeted immigration and entrepreneurial development mindset seen as key
By Michael Standaert | North Dakota News Cooperative
The towns of Langdon, in northeastern North Dakota, and Morden, in southern Manitoba province were once mirror images of each other.
News: Cardboard contamination continues in Langdon, Pg. A2
In the 1950s, they each had populations hovering around 1,800 people. These prairie communities separated by an international border and around 40 miles of farmland were both incorporated in the 1880s as railroads expanded westward. The new towns were peopled with mostly European immigrants settling to farm the fertile land of the Red River Valley region. Today, the two couldn’t be more different.
Community: Rosemary’s Pet Corner: the Siamese Cat, Pg. A6
Manitoba numbers shows a picture of a region that, in the past two decades, focused intensely on retaining population and supporting manufacturing and entrepreneurs. After building that foundation, the communities leaned heavily on targeted recruitment of skilled labor from abroad to fill open positions. Active immigrant recruitment In just the last year, 630 new immigrants arrived in Morden, according to Mayor Nancy Penner, part of a shift in demographics that emerged over the past 15 years.
Morden has grown to a population of nearly 10,000 while Langdon’s has plateaued at its 1950s numbers after a slight rise in the 1980s. Most of Morden’s growth has come in the past two decades.
“It’s kind of fun to walk down the streets and look at the schools and see the changing demographics,” Penner said. “It’s good. It’s a healthy community that we have and very welcoming. That’s what everybody says, that they all feel so welcome here.”
Comparing Walhalla, N.D., and Winkler, Manitoba, a similar story of di-
Growth has also come from recruitment across Canada to fill the needs
Participants in Morden’s annual Corn and Apple Festival parade wave Canadian flags, along with those of other countries including Ukraine and Russia, on Aug. 26, 2023. Photo provided by Shelly Voth, immigration coordinator in Morden.
helped, as has the city’s establishment of its own immigration office and how it connects with both provincial and federal immigration office programs. Winkler has its own local immigration office as well. Morden wants people who migrate there to stay in jobs and grow the community, Penner said, not leave for other cities. Immigrant retention rates there hover around 85%, she added. “That really says something about the selection process that we go through,” Penner said.
Community: A Brush with the Bunch! Pg. A10
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Munich’s Rural Fire Department plans pancake breakfast
vergent paths emerges. Just 20 miles apart, their 1950s populations were both around 1,400. Today, Winkler is approaching 14,000 residents, while its neighbor to the south has shrunk to under 900. Digging deeper into those southern
of manufacturing companies there with cabinet, trailer, and window manufacturing among the leading companies. Penner says a targeted recruitment and selection process allowed under Canadian immigration policies has
Walking path ideas discussed in Langdon
Shelly Voth, immigration coordinator for Morden, works through the Canadian federal and Manitoba provincial points-based nomination systems when screening applicants and coordinates with local companies to determine their exact needs. In the end, the Morden office eventually only choses about 3% of the applications they review.
“The touchy part is trying to pick those nominations that actually want to live in Manitoba and actually want to live in a rural area,” Voth said. “If they have Vancouver in mind and they’ve applied through Morden’s program, they’re not going to stay.” The program also has exploratory visit components with potential immigrants fitting the bill for the visit. Applicants also need a minimum amount of liquid funds before arriving in the community, so they don’t face economic uncertainty as soon as they arrive. There are also requirements for minimum levels for English language proficiency, even for lower-level jobs, Voth said. “Some of them will be job hunting as soon as they get here,” Voth said. “Some of them will have connections to jobs, depending on what their procont’d. on page A9
READING MONTH kicks off at St. Alphonsus School
By Sarah Hinnenkamp
Head to Munich for pancakes on March 24. The Munich Rural Fire Department’s 17th Annual Palm Sunday Breakfast will be served from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 at the Munich Ambulance Hall. The menu includes pancakes, eggs, potato pancakes, sausage, juice, and coffee. Cost is a free will offering with all proceeds going to the Munich Rural Fire Department.
Next Week is
AG Outlook
Meeting attendees vote for their favorite walking path ideas that were presented during brainstorming. Photo by Sarah Hinnenkamp.
Community leaders discussed a future walking path in Langdon and brainstormed ideas at a meeting held last week. Nine people attended the meeting, while others had conflicts but requested notes from the meeting.
“This is an informal meeting. Bring your ideas, your opinions, and tell us what you want,” Phillips told attendees. “We’re just going to explore different ideas and see if we could come up with something of our own that we can achieve.”
The meeting was hosted by Cavalier County Job Development Authority (CCJDA) and led by Kari Phillips, community development coordinator for the CCJDA, on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 29 at the Langdon Research Extension Center.
Attendees learned about other trails in the Rendezvous Region, including trails near Cavalier, Park River, and Grafton. The goal of the path in Langdon is to cont’d. on page A7
Curious George (Bohdyn Hope) and The Man in the Yellow Hat (Alex Chaput) paid a visit to St. Alphonsus School on Sunday afternoon. The event kicked off Reading Month and inspired kids and families to read with reading activities, snack, free books, and a scavenger hunt. Photo by Larry Stokke. For more photos from the event, see Page B10.