Displacement is nothing new in the Minot area following the 2011 Souris River flood that displaced scores of homeowners and businesses.
Along with the obvious, primary effects of these displacements often come secondary consequences as important services and organizations move to new surroundings.
Minot's Municipal Court finds itself in just such a situation.
Municipal Court has jurisdiction over traffic cases, adult criminal charges and some juvenile traffic offenses involving Class B misdemeanors that occur within the City of Minot.
Situated for many years at the Minot Municipal Auditorium, the court found itself rubbing elbows this fall with a new roommate - Ramstad at the Auditorium, the relocated Erik Ramstad Middle School whose building was destroyed in the flood.
This situation proved to be less than ideal, however. Many times, people are brought over from the Ward County Jail to attend Municipal Court who are also under arrest for more serious violations that will later be handled in Northwest District Court.
The idea of having handcuffed prisoners so close to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders gave many people pause.
Craig Eraas, assistant principal at Ramstad, said the school was uneasy from the beginning about the close proximity.
Eraas said there were some parental and staff concerns about having the prisoners so close to the kids.
He said simple logic demanded they take a step back and evaluate the situation at its base level.
"If we were in our old building, would we want to have prisoners in there? Of course not," Eraas said.
But everyone involved knew there would be a modicum of patience required while the situation was resolved. At the end of the day, Eraas said the school is thankful for all the steps that have been taken to accommodate it.
"We're the invaders here, they were extremely gracious to allow us to take over so much space," he said.
The somewhat uneasy arrangements have now resulted in the court relocating temporarily to the Minot Public Library at 516-2nd Ave. SW.
To enter the court, signs with arrows direct people to the entrance to the west of the main doors of the library, then inside and down the stairs or elevator.
Jerry Kaup, library administrator, said that during court hours, normally 8 a.m. to noon, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the library entrances are secured in a way where people going to court are prevented from entering the library itself.
Another benefit lies in the fact that, much like the auditorium, the library is also located very close to the Minot Police Department, which is where Clerk of Municipal Court Judy Traxinger and her staff are set up. In addition, Minot City Attorney John Van Grinsven III's office is just across the street at City Hall.
Kaup said at the library, the court also has much more space than it did at the auditorium.
He added that the library was more than willing to help out with the situation.
"There's such a shortage of meeting rooms around town," Kaup said. "Every little thing you can do to help right now."
