Minot

Minot (/ˈmaɪnɒt/ (listen) MY-not) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state and a trading center for a large portion of northern North Dakota, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. Founded in 1886 during the construction of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, Minot is also known as 'Magic City', commemorating its remarkable growth in size over a short time. Minot (/ˈmaɪnɒt/ (listen) MY-not) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state and a trading center for a large portion of northern North Dakota, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. Founded in 1886 during the construction of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, Minot is also known as 'Magic City', commemorating its remarkable growth in size over a short time. Minot is the principal city of the Minot micropolitan area, a micropolitan area that covers McHenry, Renville, and Ward counties and had a combined population of 69,540 at the 2010 census. In 2017, it was estimated that the population of the Minot Micropolitan Area was 77,309. Minot came into existence in 1886, after the railroad laid track through the area. A tent town sprang up overnight, as if by 'magic', thus the city came to be known as the Magic City, and in the next five months, the population increased to over 5,000 residents, further adding to the nickname's validity. The town site was chosen by the railroad to be placed on the land of then-homesteader Erik Ramstad. Ramstad was convinced to relinquish his claim, and became one of the city leaders. The town was named after Henry D. Minot, a railroad investor, an ornithologist and friend of Hill. Its Arikara name is niwaharít sahaáhkat; its Hidatsa name is dibiarugareesh, ('Plum Coulee'). The city was incorporated on July 16, 1887. The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line) later built a line from Valley City up to Canada. While initially their plan was to cross the Mouse River at Burlington, local interests and arguments convinced them otherwise; landholders along the new route donated the right-of-way. They reached Minot in 1893. On July 22, 1920 a tornado passed over Minot and bore down in a coulee three miles southeast of town. The tornado picked up the Andy Botz home and hurled it to the ground, killing Mrs. Botz, breaking Mr. Botz's shoulder, and slightly injuring the two Botz children who were in the house. Minot and its surrounding area were wide open throughout 1905–1920. The population grew rapidly due to railroad construction and availability of unclaimed land. Nearly complete court records of Ward County and Minot document the prevalence and different types of criminal activity, and offer strong support for the dubious title of 'crime capitol of North Dakota'. State attorney general William Langer helped clean up the town in 1917–1920, but by the time Prohibition had arrived in the 1920s the city had become a center of illegal activities associated with the High Third district, which were exacerbated due to the city being a supply hub of Al Capone's liquor smuggling operations. The hotbed of alcohol bootlegging, prostitution, and opium dens that sprang up in the Downtown area soon led people to give Minot the nickname 'Little Chicago'. The smugglers used a network of underground tunnels (some of which were previously built for heating or deliveries) to transport and conceal the illicit cargo entering from Canada. The 1950s saw a large influx of federal funding into the region, with the construction of Minot Air Force Base (1956–57) thirteen miles (21 km) north of the city, and Garrison Dam (1947–53) on the Missouri River, about fifty miles (80 km) south of Minot. In 1969, a severe flood on the Mouse River devastated the city. Afterward, the Army Corps of Engineers straightened the path of the river through the city and built several flood control structures. On January 18, 2002, a severe train derailment west of the city sent a gigantic cloud of anhydrous ammonia toward Minot, and Burlington. One man died and many of Minot's citizens were sickened and severely injured by the noxious gas, causing one of the worst major chemical accidents of the country. In early 2006, court cases were heard in Minneapolis, Minnesota, against Canadian Pacific Railway, the owner of the derailed train. The anhydrous ammonia spill was the largest such spill in U.S. history. This incident was used by Eric Klinenberg in his book Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media as an example of the failure of mass-media, specifically local radio stations, to disseminate information to the public in an emergency. The 2011 Mouse River flood caused extensive damage throughout the Mouse River Valley. On June 21, 2011, KXMC-TV reported that a flood of historic proportions was imminent in the Mouse River Valley, largely due to large dam releases upstream. Around 12,000 people were evacuated. On June 26, flooding exceeded previous records when the river crested at 1,561.72 feet above sea level, three feet above the previous record set back in 1881. It is estimated that 20 percent of Minot sustained damage from the flood. This figure includes over 4,100 homes which were someway affected, 2,376 extensively damaged, and 805 damaged beyond repair. Burlington was also severely damaged during this time.