After wrapping up a successful Christmas season the Chamber kept the fun rolling with free matinees at the local movie theater, their Scratch and Win promotion and other community events such as the Rugby Jaycees annual Easter egg hunt.

Upcoming in May the Minneapolis-based Brookshire Company will be filming for three days to spotlight what living in and loving a small town is like. Other towns included in the docuseries are Farmington, Minnesota, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and the Iowa Lakes Corridor. The series is meant to explore how rural America is evolving to provide new opportunities for people and businesses.

Rugby also earned a Regional Workforce Impact Program grant to piggyback off the My Town series to film another eight episodes. Odden said the city is working with Creative Treatment out of Mandan to film their own series to showcase what it’s like living and working in a rural community to use as a recruiting tool.

On May 22 at 10 a.m., there will be a town hall meeting at Rugby High School with the Brookshire Company followed by a meet-and-greet with the team.

Angie Reinoehl/MDN The $52 million Heart of America Medical Center is set to finish construction this summer. HAMC is planning to fully move operations to the new facility in October of this year.

The Saturday before Mother’s Day is Mimosas and Muffins with Mom where mothers are encouraged to stroll through downtown businesses and enjoy some treats. The Chamber also offers Rugby Bucks, where community members can trade in cash for the Rugby-based currency to make sure money stays local.

On June 22, the annual Smack Dab Motorcycle Ride will make its way to Rugby. Bikers start from the geographical center of the United States at Lebanon, Kansas, and have to make it to Rugby by sundown. The event typically draws around 100 bikers.

July brings the Chamber’s annual softball tournament, which is going on 21 years.

“It’s a day trip for people from Minot. We have a beautiful golf course that I don’t know if everybody realizes. We have a pickleball court, we have frisbee golf in one of our parks. Those are just some of the great things. It’s just such a good day trip,” Odden said.

In addition to the events in the community, Rugby has also seen numerous improvements to the community including the new Heart of America Medical Center which is set to open in October.

In addition to Rugby Public Schools earning a Blue Ribbon Award, North Dakota Superintendent of the Year and N.D. Principal of the year, Ely Elementary has also expanded which includes a new gymnasium to accommodate junior high and elementary sporting events as well as choir and band performances and a new special education suite, amongst other improvements.

“Rugby to me – everybody knows your name, it’s part of being a community. One thing I don’t think people don’t always understand is just because we’re a smaller, rural community, there’s so many opportunities right here… Everybody tries to make you feel welcome from the moment you step in,” Odden said.