City of Bridges Connects with Neighboring Towns

“We started working on the National Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway in 1996 when ND announced a state wide program. We were designated as one such byway in the state and then in 2002 we gained a national designation. We are one of only 96 such designations in the country.” Mary Lee Nielson, head of the Rosebud Visitors Center in Valley City, ND (population 6,826) told me about the 63 mile byway’s origin. It is formed along a glacial melt-water trench.

A lot of people and communities working together have resulted in the project becoming a $1.5 million investment that is bringing in tourists and breathing life into the region. The keys of how the project originated and its impact were educational to me. First, the community had to recognize the potential of the project. They started with “2 sheets of plywood” to designate the byway, but have grown it tremendously over the years. They leveraged 39 different funding sources for the project with 24% from state and local government organizations; 30% from the private sector and 56% from the federal government. Part of this funding came from in-kind services from the National Guard. They also didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but visited numerous other national scenic byways. It’s not “rocket science” but shows what can happen when people work together.

Valley City is also taking the lead in other collaborative endeavors. The Sheyenne Valley Growth Alliance is an oval shaped area that stretches 30 miles east and west along I-94 and 50 miles north and south. Its focus is upon economic development opportunities in the region. The Tech Center is another cooperative venture of the local EDC and Valley Center State University. The venture recently landed Eagle Creek, a software services company with a focus upon outsourcing solutions internally within the USA in low cost locations like Valley City.

The city also has a strong industrial base with companies like John Deere with 250 employees, which makes its air seeders in the town.

The downtown also impressed me. In 1990 there were 19 open store fronts in the downtown but the community got together to see how they could compete, especially with the big boxes in Jamestown and Fargo, 30 and 50 miles respectively from Valley City. New apartment buildings adjacent to the downtown will add to the allure of its downtown. Landmark Apartments has 17, 1,200+ sf apartments that rent for $600 to $1100/month in a converted grocery warehouse and the Elks Club conversion has resulted in 11, two bedroom apartments. Landmark II was coming out of the ground when I was there. This $3.5 million project will result in 37 new apartments in a new five story building which will also include retail on the ground floor. New apartments are also being done on the second floor of the old downtown buildings.

The quality of life attributes for a town this size are tremendous. They have a four year University, a wonderful 27 mile long lake and a series of eight very unique bridges that cross the meandering Sheyenne River. One of the more interesting artistic items I saw was the Medicine Wheel Park which was started by Valley City State University professor Joe Stickler in 1992. The Medicine Wheel measures 213 feet around and has 28 spokes that radiate from its center. In addition to the solar calendar it also features a replica of our solar system.

Valley City was an impressive town that has learned how to work together and as a result is creating some very unique opportunities for its residents.