Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, as well as adjacent West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the center of the Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Founded in 1871, Fargo is the crossroads and economic center of southeastern North Dakota and a portion of northwestern Minnesota. Fargo is a cultural, retail, manufacturing, health care, and educational hub for the region. Fargo is home to North Dakota State University.

Early history
The area that is present-day Fargo was an early stopping point for steamboats floating down the Red River during the 1870s and 1880s. The city was originally named "Centralia," but was later renamed "Fargo" in honor of Northern Pacific Railway director and Wells Fargo Express Company founder William Fargo. The area started to flourish after the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the city became known as the "Gateway to the West".

During the 1880s, Fargo became the "divorce capital" of the Midwest because of lenient divorce laws.

A major fire struck the city on June 7, 1893 when the proprietor of a grocery store accidentally started the blaze as she emptied ashes behind her store on a windy day. The fire destroyed 31 blocks of downtown Fargo. However, the city was quickly rebuilt with new buildings made of brick, new streets, and a water system. Over 246 new buildings were built within one year.

The North Dakota State Agricultural College was founded in 1890 as North Dakota's land-grant university, becoming first accredited by the North Central Association in 1915. In 1960, NDAC became known as North Dakota State University.

The 20th century
Early in the century, the automobile industry flourished, and in 1905, Fargo was home to the Pence Automobile Company.

Fargo-Moorhead boomed after World War II and the city grew rapidly despite being hit by a violent tornado in 1957. The tornado destroyed a large portion of the north end of the city. Dr. Ted Fujita, famous for his Fujita tornado scale, analyzed pictures of the Fargo tornado, which helped him develop his ideas for "wall cloud" and "tail cloud." These were the first major scientific descriptive terms associated with tornadoes. The coming of two interstates (I-29 and I-94) revolutionized travel in the region and pushed growth of Fargo to the south and west of the city limits. In 1972, the West Acres Shopping Center, currently the largest shopping mall in North Dakota, was constructed near the intersection of the two Interstates. This mall would become the catalyst for retail growth in the area. It would also spell the beginning of decline for Fargo's downtown.

Recent history


Several businesses now have major operations in the community including Microsoft, Navteq and Cetero Research. The city's major retail districts on the southwest side have seen rapid expansion as has the downtown area due, at least, in part to investments made by the city and private developers in the Renaissance Zone. Planning agencies have also been active in promoting housing rehabilitation in older sections of the city such as the Roosevelt neighborhood to stem blight and strengthen the city's core.

Since the late 1990s, the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Statistical Area has consistently had one of the lowest unemployment rates among MSAs in the United States. This, coupled with Fargo's low crime rate and the decent supply of affordable housing in the community, has prompted Money magazine to rank the city near the top of its annual list of America's most livable cities throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Fargo's largest challenge over the past two years, however, has been the rising water of the Red River, which flows from the United States into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The Red flows northward, which means melting snow and river ice, as well as runoff from its tributaries, often create ice dams, which cause the river to overflow. Fargo's surrounding Red River Valley terrain is essentially flat, leading to overland flooding. With the Red flowing right through the heart of the city, permanent flood protection will be an issue for many years to come.

This geographical setup leaves the city currently vulnerable to flooding during seasons with above average precipitation. The Red River's "minor" flood stage in Fargo begins at a level of 18 feet, with "major" flooding categorized at 30 feet and above. Many major downtown roadways and access to Moorhead, MN are closed off at this level. Record snowfalls late in 1996 led to flooding in 1997, causing the Red to rise to a record crest of 39.5 feet, nearly overtaking city defenses. In 2008-2009, significant fall precipitation coupled with a rapid snowmelt in March 2009 caused the Red to rise to a new record level of 40.84 feet, but again Fargo remained safe, in large part due to flood mitigation efforts instituted after the '97 event. Further upgrades were made to city infrastructure and additional resources brought to bear following the '09 flood, which caused no issues for the city in 2010 despite another rapid melt that caused the Red to rise to 37 feet (which ranks among the top ten highest levels ever recorded). Recent discussions have focused on a $1.5 billion diversion project that would channel the Red's water away from the city, but such a project is very much in the planning stages and being evaluated by various government agencies.

Geography
Fargo is located at °N, °W (46.871414, -96.808658). Fargo is a core city of the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area which also includes Moorhead, West Fargo, and Dilworth as well as outlying communities.

Fargo sits on the western bank of the Red River of the North in a flat geographic region known as the Red River Valley. The Red River Valley resulted from the withdrawal of glacial Lake Agassiz, which drained away about 9,300 years ago. The lake sediments deposited from Lake Agassiz made the land around Fargo some of the richest in the world for agricultural uses. Early settlers sometimes called the Red River Valley a new "Garden of Eden".

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.9 square miles (98.3 km²), all land.

Climate
Due to its location in the Great Plains and its distance from both mountains and oceans, the city has a humid continental climate (Koppen Dfb), and a USDA Plant Hardiness of Zone rating of 4. The city features long, cold, windy, and snowy winters, with lows falling below 0 F 48 nights per year, and sometimes falling to -20 F. Snowfall, and rarely rain, occurs with most weather systems that pass by, and averages 46 in per season. Spring and autumn are short and highly variable seasons. Summers are very warm, often quite humid with frequent thunderstorms, and highs reach 90 F on an average of 13.6 days each year. The annual precipitation stands at 21.2 in, concentrated in the warmer months.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,599 people, 39,268 households, and 20,724 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,388.2 inhabitants per square mile (922.0/km²). There were 41,200 housing units at an average density of 1,086.0 per square mile (419.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.17% White, 1.02% African American, 1.24% Native American, 1.64% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.

The top seven ancestry groups in the city are German (40.6%), Norwegian (35.8%), Irish (8.6%), Swedish (6.5%), English (5.2%), French (4.7%), Italian (3.6).

There were 39,268 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 19.2% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,510, and the median income for a family was $50,486. Males had a median income of $31,968 versus $22,264 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,101. About 6.6% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition was as follows:


 * White: 92.4% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 91.0%)
 * Black or African American: 2.5%
 * American Indian: 1.3%
 * Asian: 2.1%
 * Pacific Islander: 0.1%
 * Some other race: 0.4%
 * Two or more races: 1.3%


 * Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 2.1%

Source:

According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the top ten European ancestries were the following:


 * German: 42.7%
 * Norwegian: 35.0%
 * Irish: 9.4%
 * Swedish: 6.2%
 * English: 5.3%
 * French: 4.7%
 * Polish: 2.9%
 * Russian: 2.4%
 * Scottish: 1.7%
 * Scotch-Irish: 1.7%

Source:

Law and government
Fargo uses the city commission style of local government. Four commissioners and a mayor are elected at large for four-year terms. The current mayor of Fargo is Dennis Walaker, who was elected in 2006 over five challengers with 34% of the votes cast. Walaker, the city's longtime Public Works Director, presided over the city's successful 2009 and 2010 Red River flooding battles, which contributed to his re-election in June 2010 with 92% of the popular vote against three other candidates. One of the commissioners, currently Dr. Tim Mahoney, is selected by the commission members to serve as deputy mayor. The Fargo City Commission meets every two weeks in its chambers above the Fargo Civic Center. The meetings are broadcast on a Government-access television (GATV) cable channel.

Although politically diverse, Fargo has a history as a Republican-leaning area. Democrats tend to do well in state elections in the older and established areas of Fargo (Districts 11 and 21), but Republicans dominate throughout much of the newer areas of the city. George W. Bush carried Fargo as well as the rest of Cass County in the 2004 presidential election, with nearly 60 percent of the vote in both areas. In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama won the majority of votes in Cass County, with a voting percentage very close to the percentage Obama received in the entire nation, while John McCain won the majority of votes in the entire state of North Dakota.

Although less Democratic-leaning than Grand Forks, Fargo is considerably more moderate/liberal than Bismarck, where Democrats hold only a single seat in the state senate. In the 2006 elections, several Fargo-area Republican incumbents to the state legislature were defeated.

Economy
The economy of the Fargo area has historically been dependent on agriculture. That dominance has decreased substantially in recent decades. Now, the city of Fargo has a growing economy based on food processing, manufacturing, technology, retail trade, higher education, and healthcare. The largest non-governmental employers in the city include Sanford Health, Innovis Health, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, US Bank, Microsoft, Case New Holland and Swanson Health Products. North Dakota State University is the largest public sector employer in the city. In a study published by Forbes, Fargo was ranked the 7th best small city in the nation to start a business or a career.

K–12
The Fargo Public Schools system serves most of the city, operating fifteen elementary schools, three middle schools, three (soon to be four) high schools (Fargo North High School, Fargo South High School), Ronald Davies High School (to open 2011), and an alternative high school (Woodrow Wilson). South Fargo ninth graders are temporarily going to South Campus II (former Agassiz Middle School) until Ronald Davies High School is built in south Fargo.

The West Fargo Public Schools system serves most of the southwestern part of the city.

The Fargo Catholic Schools Network operates Holy Spirit Elementary (North), Nativity Elementary (South), Sullivan Middle School, and Shanley High School. The Oak Grove Lutheran School, Grace Lutheran School, and Park Christian School serve grades Pre-K–12.

Higher education


Fargo is home to North Dakota State University (NDSU) which has over 14,000 students. NDSU was founded in 1890 primarily as an agricultural school, but has since branched out to cover many other fields of study.

Fargo is also home to several private institutions, including Rasmussen College, a branch location of the University of Mary, and Masters Baptist College operated by Fargo Baptist Church. Until recently, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business maintained a Fargo Student Resource Center, now replaced by the college's Moorhead campus.

Libraries
Fargo Public Library is located downtown with satellite libraries around town.

Culture
Fargo offers a wide variety of cultural opportunities for a city of its size. This is likely due, in part, to the presence of three universities in the area. Most theatre and events are either promoted or produced by the universities, although there are several private theatre companies in the city including Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre (FMCT), Theatre 'B' in downtown Fargo, Ursa Major Productions, Music Theatre Fargo Moorhead, Tin Roof Theatre Company, The Entertainment Company and others. Music organizations in the area include the Fargo-Moorhead Opera, the Jazz Arts Group, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and the Fargo-Moorhead Youth Symphony. Fargo also boasts a dance company in the Fargo-Moorhead Ballet.

The Fargo Theatre is a restored 1926 Art Deco movie house that features first-run movies, film festivals, and other community events. The Fargodome routinely hosts concerts, Broadway musicals, dance performances, sporting events, as well as fairs and other gatherings.

The Winter Carnival in Fargo is a tradition that began in 1928.

The Plains Art Museum is the largest museum of art in the state. It is located in downtown Fargo and features regional and national exhibits. It also houses a large permanent collection of art. There are several other museums in Fargo including The Children's Museum at Yunker Farm, The Fargo Air Museum, The Courthouse Museum, The Roger Maris Museum in West Acres Shopping Center, the North Dakota State University Wall of Fame in the Scheels All Sports store and the historic Bonanzaville village (West Fargo).

The Fargo Public Library was established in 1900 and for many years was housed in a Carnegie-funded building. In 1968, the library moved into a new facility as part of urban renewal efforts in the downtown area. In 2002, the Fargo Public Library established the first branch library in North Dakota with the opening of the Southpointe Branch. In 2004, voters passed an 18-month sales tax measure for new library facilities with 62% of voters in favor. The new Northport Branch opened in 2006 and serves the north side of Fargo. The Dr. James Carlson Library, which replaced the earlier Southpointe Branch, opened to the public on November 16, 2007 and serves the south side of Fargo. The new main library downtown, designed by Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, opened April 25, 2009.

Recreation
The Fargo Park District operates many neighborhood parks throughout the city. The Fargo area contains the following golf courses: Edgewood Golf Course (18-hole), Fargo Country Club (18-hole) Rose Creek Golf Course (18-hole), El Zagal (9-hole), Prairiewood Golf Course (9-hole), and the new Osgood Golf Course (9-hole). In the winter Edgewood serves as a warming house and also provides cross country skis. Rose Creek and Osgood golf courses offer golfing lessons in the summer months. Fargo also has a skate park located near dike west and Island park. Fargo and sister city Moorhead also hold ferry rides during the summer, on the historic Red River, to promote education of the fertile dirt of the Red River Valley.

Sports

 * North Dakota State University, an NCAA Division I university with 14 varsity sports and Club sports such as Club Hockey and Lacrosse
 * Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association
 * Fargo Post of the North Dakota American Legion baseball league
 * Fargo Marathon
 * Fargo-Moorhead Liberty, a new semi-pro football team part of the Northern Power Football League, plays at Moorhead Senior High School's Jim Gotta Stadium.
 * Fargo Force, a tier 1 USHL hockey team.
 * Fargo Moorhead Derby Girls (FMDG) women's roller derby league was founded in May 2009 and plays at the Civic Center downtown Fargo. Every game in their 2009-2010 season was sold out.

Sister cities
Fargo has two sister cities:

Media

 * See also: Fargo-Moorhead media for a list of newspapers, radio stations, television stations, yellow page directories, and more...

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead is the city's major newspaper. The High Plains Reader, an independent weekly tabloid, also operates in the community. North Dakota State University's student paper, The Spectrum, is printed twice weekly during the academic year. The city is also served by other publications such as OPEN Magazine, Area Woman, From House To Home, Bison Illustrated and Valley Faith.

Fargo is also home to several radio and television stations. Forum Communications, which also owns The Forum, owns WDAY-TV and WDAY radio. Local resident James Ingstad owns six radio stations under Radio Fargo-Moorhead, Inc., including KFGO. SMAHH Communications owns WZFG and KEGK. GoRadio, a division of Triad Broadcasting, owns Froggy 99.9, 107.9 The Fox, FM 105.1, Q98 and 1660 ESPN Radio.

Fargo television includes KVLY-TV (NBC), KXJB (CBS), KVRR (FOX), WDAY-TV (ABC) and KFME (PBS), which also is home base for Prairie Public Television. Cable television service is provided by Cable One.

Fargo has 4 local yellow pages publishers. SMARTSEARCH, which is locally owned and operated; yellowbook, owned by the Yell Group, a foreign United Kingdom based company; Dex, owned by RH Donnelley and based in North Carolina; and Phone Directories Company (PDC), based in Utah.

Transportation
Fargo is a major transportation hub for the surrounding region. It sits at the crossroads of two major interstate highways, I-29 and I-94 and is the home of an international airport.

Fargo is served by Hector International Airport. Hector has the longest public runway in the state and scheduled passenger flights to Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Mesa, Los Angeles, Orlando and Salt Lake City. The city is served by Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, American Eagle, United Express and Allegiant Air. An Air National Guard unit and the Fixed-Base Operation Fargo Jet Center are located at Hector.

The BNSF Railway runs through the metropolitan area as successor to the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railroad. Amtrak service is provided via the Empire Builder passenger train at the Fargo Amtrak station.

The city sits at the intersection of Interstate 29 and Interstate 94. U.S. Highway 81, U.S. Highway 10, and U.S. Highway 52 also run through the community. Some other major roadways in the city include 45th St., 32nd Ave. S, 13th Ave. S, Main Ave. and University Drive.

A public bus service named Fargo Moorhead Metro Area Transit (MAT) operates several routes. Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines and Rimrock Stages Trailways bus services also link Fargo to other communities.

The street system of Fargo is structured in the classic grid pattern. Routes that run from north to south are called streets, and routes that run from east to west are called avenues.

Arenas and auditoriums

 * Fargodome - An indoor arena located on the NDSU campus. It plays host to all NDSU home football games and is also used for concerts and trade shows. This is also where the high school wrestling national freestyle and Greco-Roman championships take place every year.
 * Reineke Fine Arts Center - Located on the NDSU campus. The University uses the center for concerts, theatrical presentations, and other events.
 * Fargo Civic Center - An indoor arena used to host trade shows, sporting events, meetings, community events, concerts, and disaster relief.
 * John E. Carlson Coliseum - This arena is host to the Fargo North High School and Fargo South High School hockey teams as well as the FM Jets hockey team, before the team left Fargo. The arena was built in 1968 and has previously been home to the Fargo Blazers and NDSU Club hockey teams. The arena is also for figure skating. The Coliseum hosts the largest squirt hockey tournament in the world, the Fargo Flyers Squirt International Hockey Tournament.
 * Scheels Arena - On June 27, 2007, Fargo held a groundbreaking for the Urban Plains Center ice hockey arena. The $44 million arena is located in south Fargo, its first event was the Fargo Force Hockey home game on Thursday, October 30, 2008. The arena will be used for a USHL team, Fargo Force, Fargo high school hockey, and many other special events. The Urban Plains Center was renamed Scheels Arena on October 6, 2010.

Museums

 * Bonanzaville, USA - A village made up of many historic buildings from the region. Includes a church, school building, and log cabins. It is named after the historic bonanza farms of the area.
 * The Children's Museum at Yunker Farm - Provides many exhibits and hands-on participation for children.
 * Fargo Air Museum - Features aircraft from World War II and beyond. Also hosts traveling exhibits.
 * Plains Art Museum - A large art museum located in a historic downtown building. Features regional and national exhibits.
 * The Roger Maris Museum - A small museum dedicated to Roger Maris located in a wing of the West Acres Shopping Center. Features memorabilia and a video presentation about the New York Yankees player who lived in Fargo for a portion of his life.
 * Hjemkomst Center - Displays and interprets the Hjemkmost replica Viking ship that was sailed to Norway. Also home of the Clay County Historical Society museum and archives.

Theaters

 * Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre - FMCT presents comedies, dramas, youth shows, and musicals in a theatre located in Island Park south of downtown.
 * Fargo Theatre - A 1926 Art Deco movie theater. Presents films (classic and current), live productions, and other events.
 * Main Avenue Theatre - Hosts live productions by local independent theater company Theatre B.
 * Trollwood Performing Arts School - Trollwood Performing Arts School is a summer theatre arts program for students of all ages. The school presents many different forms of performing arts every summer, the most prominent being a Broadway musical performed in front of up to 2,500 audience members per night at an outdoor amphitheatre. The school is noted for its numerous national arts awards.
 * Gooseberry Park Players - the Gooseberry Park Players are a not-for profit, fee-free theatre company for individuals 11–18 years old. Every summer in late July, they present a show at the Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre on the campus of Concordia College.
 * Fargo-Moorhead Opera - The Fargo-Moorhead Opera is a non-profit, professional opera company. The FM Opera has two to three productions each year with added International Dinners, and an annual Gala. The FM Opera is the only professional opera company between Minneapolis and Billings going East-West, and between Winnipeg and Omaha going North-South.

Tallest buildings
The tallest buildings in Fargo are the:
 * 1: Radisson Hotel (Height: 206 ft 8 in; 63 m, built 1985, 18 floors)
 * 2: Lashkowitz High Rise (Height: 203 ft 4 in; 62 m, built 1970, 22 floors)
 * 3: Cathedral of St. Mary (Height: 170 ft 3 in; 52 m, built 1899)
 * 4: First Lutheran Church (Height: 167 ft 4 in; 51 m, built 1920)
 * 5: Fargodome (Height: 125 ft; 38 m, built 1992)

Miscellaneous attractions

 * Newman Outdoor Field - Home of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (an independent professional baseball team that is part of the American Association).
 * North Dakota Horse Park - Features live racing and betting.
 * Red River Zoo - A 30 acre zoo that features 80 species of animals. Also includes a restored 1928 carousel.
 * Fargo Outdoor Skate Park - Outdoor skate park located at the Dike West.

In popular culture
Fargo is an Academy Award winning 1996 film starring Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, and William H. Macy and directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film is named after the city which is only seen briefly at the film's opening scene set in a bar and mentioned a total of twice in the film. None of Fargo was shot on location in or near Fargo (the establishing shot noted in the movie as Fargo was instead filmed in northeast Minneapolis). The majority of the movie was filmed in Minneapolis and the local areas around Grand Forks, North Dakota, which served as a substitute for Brainerd, Minnesota due to mild Minnesota weather during production. According to an interview with Charlie Rose on the Special Edition DVD, the Coens claim they actually titled the movie Fargo because it sounded more interesting than "Brainerd".

Fargo North, Decoder was a trenchcoat-wearing character on The Electric Company, who tried to make sense of messages with scrambled words or missing letters.