At the City of Minot, we’re preparing for the State of the City event, with the fourth annual event scheduled for the evening of Feb. 2.

As usual, the preparation has been under way for the past few months, but this year’s event will be noticeably different. Certainly this is due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying guidelines for social distancing. Unlike the three previous years, the 2021 State of the City will be presented virtually through various social media platforms. We’ll share more details in the coming weeks.

While the format has changed, the focus of the event remains the same: To update the community on what’s happening at the City of Minot, and to present a vision for where our organization and our City are headed in 2021.

Despite the pandemic disrupting life in our community this past year, there were many success stories for the City of Minot in 2020. Work on flood control is making steady and visible progress, with phases 1, 2, and 3 substantially completed. We welcomed good news about Phase 4, also known as the Maple Diversion, which is now eligible for federal funding, although much work remains to secure funding for the approximately $90 million project that will help protect many residents in the river valley.

The Northwest Area Water Supply project became closer to reality in 2020, with the design under way on a water treatment facility to be built near Max and the continuation of a project to expand the size and capacity of the Minot Water Treatment Plant. There were several major construction projects completed this past year, notably the reconstruction of 31st Avenue SE that included the city’s first roundabout, rebuilding a key section of 10th Street SW, and opening a new intersection on the north side of the 3rd Street NE bridge, to name a few.

As we bid farewell to 2020, we’ll also use the State of the City to discuss where we’re headed as an organization and as a community. The ongoing pandemic will no doubt play a role in what 2021 looks like, with lingering effects on businesses, individuals, and the local economy. What effects will the pandemic continue to have on local sales taxes? How does any decline in sales taxes affect the soon-to-begin process of crafting the City’s 2022 budget? Will 2021 be the year we move closer to implementing a curbside recycling program? What major construction projects do we expect to be completed this year? We’ll discuss those topics, and many more, during the event on Feb. 2.

As part of this year’s State of the City, we’re conducting a search for the Citizen of the Year based on video submissions for members of the community – and there’s still time to enter the contest after the deadline was extended to Jan. 15.

Everyone has a story to tell, and our community is full of people who do amazing things every day. If there’s someone you feel has gone out of their way this past year to make Minot a better community, this is a great opportunity to recognize them in a very public fashion. It could be someone who helps make the entire community better, or someone who is simply a good neighbor. Either way, we want to see and hear their story, and we want to share their impact on Minot and its residents.

The winning video will be part of the State of the City event. The subject of the winning video will receive $1,000 courtesy of First International Bank & Trust to donate to their favorite Minot charity. The video creator will win $100 in Minot Chamber of Commerce bucks courtesy of Farmers Union Insurance. Videos should be between 1 minute and five minutes in length. Videos can be submitted to the City of Minot via a link on the City’s website at minotnd.org/mayorschallenge.

We’re looking forward to a great event on Feb. 2, although we’d much rather be conducting the State of the City before a live audience as usual. Still, it’s perhaps more important than ever that we share the City’s success stories from 2020, and discuss what we see on the horizon for our community in 2021. Please join us on Feb. 2.

Sincerely, City Hall.

You can find more about what’s happening at the City of Minot at minotnd.org, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. We’d also encourage you to sign up for our monthly electronic newsletter on our website.