Jill Schramm/MDN Minot Mayor Tom Ross delivers the State of the City Address at The Depot in downtown Minot Thursday.

Minot Mayor Tom Ross highlighted the city’s collaborative achievements at his State of the City address delivered Thursday at The Depot in downtown Minot. He also announced a new Magic City Hall of Fame and Mayor’s Council on Cyberbullying during his luncheon address.

“There are several people behind every successful infrastructure project and every decision to move our community forward. Visionaries who see the bigger picture of what it takes to succeed are a hallmark of a progressive, growing city. Here in Minot, we’ve been blessed to have many outstanding community leaders throughout our history, and I think it’s time we start to publicly recognize and thank those,” he said.

Ross said he would work with the Minot City Council to create a committee to consider nominees to a hall of fame. Listing names from early Minot founder Erik Ramstad to more contemporary business and government leaders, he noted, “We can fill the Magic City Hall of Fame just off the top of our heads.”

He said a council on cyberbullying will bring together educators, administrators, students, counselors and law enforcement.

“I believe this is a perfect opportunity to work toward a solution. The physical safety and mental health of our children is at risk. Together we can find ways to teach our children to avoid or respond to cyberbullying, and maybe we can find ways to reduce the number of cyberbullying attacks that are happening,” Ross said.

The mayor also reported that proceeds from the luncheon will be donated to the city’s soup kitchens. The Minot Area Community Foundation’s Arnold Besserud Fund will match that contribution, raising the total donation to the soup kitchens to $3,400. About 130 people attended the luncheon.

Ross singled out a number of groups for recognition, including law enforcement, teachers, city employees, Minot Air Force Base and community organizations, highlighting the Native American Cultural Center at Minot State University, the Pursuit Church for its Day of Hope and the North Dakota State Fair.

He described the city’s efforts to educate and help city employees struggling with mental health concerns following the death of police officer Patrick Blanchard, who also was recognized.

Ross singled out a number of people present at the lunch. They included two Minot AFB airmen, Jorge Peralta Asmad of Peru and Amin Ahmadi of Afghanistan, who signed up to defend the country even before their naturalization as American citizens. He recognized veterans Don Hagen and Russell Rickerson and city sanitation employee Harold Marten, whose outstanding service prompted a resident to write to the city to commend him. The recognition included eighth grader J.J. Franks, whose basketball shooting feat earned him $10,000 and national fame in the Gatorade Halftime Shootout.

Ross talked about the soon-to-open Magic City Discovery Center, the opening of a new city hall and hospital this spring, the opening of a new fire station and the addition of curbside recycling this summer. He mentioned the success of the intermodal facility and improvements downtown and at Dakota Square Mall. He spoke about the progress with flood control, the Northwest Area Water Supply Project and new high school to open in 2024 as well as the future progress associated with coming Air Force missile field improvements.

Another major accomplishment was achieving the 50,000 population mark, designating Minot as a federal Metropolitan Planning Organization and raising its status for federal planning funds.

“Overall, the MPO designation is another feather in our hat and another tool at our disposal as we continue going forward,” Ross said. Over the next few months, the city will create a technical advisory committee, sign agreement with the state and establish a team to develop a metropolitan transportation plan, he said.

Ross noted there have been challenges, too. Challenges make Minot a better community in the long run by forcing the city to solve problems through cooperation, he said. One of those challenges in 2023 will be creating a workable, realistic city budget for 2024, he said.

“Together we are one community,” he said. “Alone, we can do so little. Together, we can do so much.”