This isn’t the first time there has been an effort to brand downtown Minot as “Little Chicago,” but the current push has the possibility of being a tremendous benefit to downtown merchants, members of the public seeking a night out on the town, and the overall economy of the city.

The Little Chicago Pub District is the brainchild of a group of bar operators downtown who have sponsored themed pub crawls, a St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt featuring downtown Minot-oriented questions in 2017, and has worked with the Dakota Territory Air Museum and helped them put on seven different events last summer with plans to do the same thing again this year.

The pub district is now getting calls from groups to organize pub crawls for them. The pub district group has also worked with non-profits and community groups, such as Pride Minot and the Souris Valley Animal Shelter.

The effort of LCPD doesn’t just benefit bars, although a goal is to make downtown the place to head for nightlife. It also benefits merchants by bringing visitors downtown. Despite distinct businesses downtown, the area was slowed economically by the revitalization project and by the tendency of some to head immediately to the mall for shopping.

Some might not appreciate the branding aspect of the initiative because it recalls the colorful Prohibition era in Minot – those parts both possibly true and those possibly mythic. However, that was a century ago, times have changed and burying history is a sad thing to witness.

Hopefully, the pub district and its supporters throughout the community can help add more energy to downtown, which inevitably would benefit the entire city.

For information and events, the pub district’s Facebook page is @LCPubDistrict.