Does Fargo Help or Hurt Grand Forks?

[IowaBison]

Here is what I was specifically talking about how Fargo's growth has helped Grand Forks.

http://www.sei-it.com/newsarticle.asp?News_UID=1

They hired 75 professionals and 200 more employees in a couple years.  They stated that

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The surest sign of being a crappy town is when you boast of landing a call center.

[IowaBison]

I realize that this is a website about a university, and I think that is the only reason there are NDSU fans making comments about GF. 

Both cities suck for not having all local stations broadcasting in HD, although that is mainly the fault of Fargo since GF can only support one station.

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-I've enjoyed reading this thread as I grew in rural North Central North Dakota and Grand Forks was our regional 'everything center'

-Fargo/Grand Forks are the same market as far as the FCC is concerned. I've often wondered how long wday/wdaz will continue to run seperate news broadcasts.

[The Sicatoka]

-Fargo/Grand Forks are the same market as far as the FCC is concerned.  I've often wondered how long wday/wdaz will continue to run seperate news broadcasts.

WDAZ has been doing its own news for a long, long time. However, they do share Wheelie the Weather Guy. (He pre-tapes the weather for WDAZ.) I'm not sure what would ever happen to change that. WDAZ spends time looking at TRF/Grafton/Devils Lake stories. WDAY spends more on Fergus Falls/Jamestown/Wahpeton.

In terms of the FCC, what I think GF is missing is that high-power AM station that carries like a KFYR or a KFGO or a KSJB.

[U2Bad1]

My guess is that Bismark is getting as much or more influx from the small towns as Fargo and thats probably why we should get Mary into the NCC as soon as possible.  Bismark will be the third largest city in the state after Fargo and West Fargo in a few short yrs.

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I doubt it since Bismarck is growing at just a slightly lower percentage rate as Fargo.

Sicatoka is on target here...much as the two cities and universities like to paint themselves as competitors, they need each other, and the state needs them to work together...Dorgan's got the right idea...eventually, that GF-Fargo-Wahpeton corridor will look a lot like the Logan-Salt Lake City-Provo corridor in Utah...while we all like to be partisan, a strong UND actually benefits NDSU, and vice-versa...

I go to school in Salt Lake City and the there are 1.5 million people in the Ogden- Salt Lake City - Provo corridor (Logan doesnt count). Trust me, you don't want that and keep in mind salt lake city attracts many different people for different reasons than pretty much any other city in the country. Also, Fargo-Grand Forks lacks the third world birth rate that most places in Utah have.

[SiouxMeNow]

The surest sign of being a crappy town is when you boast of landing a call center

Well...they were in Fargo first and they "boasted" about it so I guess you answered your own question SEI is a great addition to GF (average starting salaries are $13-$15 from what I understand - hopefully they'll take over the entire old Bank Building downtown before long.

BTW - what they do is more tech support, not a call center. Incoming calls only...no outgoing sales calls (*)

(*)-I was tempted to type YOU MORON but I promised the monster I would stop snapping on MORONS from the Ag college for a month and I'm trying to keep that promise How'm I doin' monster??

[IowaBison]

Well...they were in Fargo first and they "boasted" about it so I guess you answered your own question SEI is a great addition to GF (average starting salaries are $13-$15 from what I understand - hopefully they'll take over the entire old Bank Building downtown before long.

BTW - what they do is more tech support, not a call center. Incoming calls only...no outgoing sales calls (*)

(*)-I was tempted to type YOU MORON but I promised the monster I would stop snapping on MORONS from the Ag college for a month and I'm trying to keep that promise How'm I doin' monster??

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Nice to know you have self control

Good for you!

You're right about them being tech jobs considering one needs either a high school diploma or GED, two years of customer service, and basic knowledge of computers!

Sorry about that, I must be a moron! (Especially when you have no verification of your 'average salary'; also, many English speakers use to the word 'call' to denote either making or receiving a telephone call, sorry about that one too!)

[Cratter]

Nice to know you have self control

Good for you!

You're right about them being tech jobs considering one needs either a high school diploma or GED, two years of customer service, and basic knowledge of computers!

Sorry about that, I must be a moron! (Especially when you have no verification of your 'average salary'; also, many English speakers use to the word 'call' to denote either making or receiving a telephone call, sorry about that one too!)

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You see I would have replied, but I promised myself to quit replying to MORONS. Was I boasting about getting a "call center." Or was I pointing out facts? Unlike you, I don't have the need to bring down others by posting off topic discussions that don't relate.

I also think GF is hurt, by Fargo's closeness, in that all the news viewed in GF (except for WDAZ) is produced in Fargo. Same with Saint Cloud, MN and how it doesn't get its own local news station because it's close to MPLS/STP (to my knownledge).

[ethanm]

Fargo being close to GF helps UND which in turn helps GF. I believe that over 50% of hockey ticket holders live outside of GF. You'd have to think a big portion of that is from Fargo. I know there sure seem to be a lot of cars when I'm driving up from Fargo for games. UND seems to be spending a lot more money in the Fargo area promoting sports than I can ever remember.

I've lived in Fargo my whole life, and I've never looked at GF as a rival once you throw out anything to do with UND and NDSU. Growing up, Bison fans would rip GF when they'd hear I'm a Sioux fan. My response was always along the lines of what does Fargo being better than GF, in your mind, have anything to do with the performance of the athletic teams from UND and NDSU. Now, I did get sick of hearing how MN is better than ND growing up. So, Moorhead is at the bottom of my list of favorite cities. My favorite Forum picture is of former Moorhead Mayor Lanning looking all pissed off when the last census results showed that Moorhead shrunk in the 90's compared to Fargo & West Fargo's 20% growth rate. I think Dillworth even gained a 1000 people which is a high percentage for them.

[BigGreyAnt41]

GF and Fargo arent really anything alike.  Fargo is far more urban and will really make that apparent in the next decade.  They just seem to have reached the critical mass that makes it a boom town.

You have got to be kidding me?

Have you lived in both cities? To be honest, if you haven't you really can't say. Going to Fargo to visit and do whatever you do doesn't give you a good perspective on the city and the area. Fargo and Grand Forks are so similiar it's not even funny.

Besides the obvious thing that have already been pointed out there are really no differences between the two cities.

[BisonMav]

[The Sicatoka]

I have lived and worked in Fargo, Grand Forks, and now the Twin Cities.  I would agree with ethanm, that Fargo will appear much more urban in the next decade.  Fargo has the feel of a booming Twin Cities suburb.  That's not a knock against Grand Forks, because it is a nice city to live in, anyplace in ND is a good place to live.  It's just the fact that Fargo is booming.  I see a similarity between Moorhead and Grand Forks, only because both are hockey towns, but so is St Paul.

I won't disagree with what you say save for one word:

One man's "booming" is another man's "ugly sprawl" and sprawl causes a loss of sense of community in my experience (and I've lived in four states and both Fargo and Grand Forks).

[SiouxMeNow]

well...we're happy being ourselves...only one city in ND seems to be a big "wanna be" METRO area! Go for it! BTW - you've got a LONG way to go

[TheBisonator]

You have got to be kidding me?

Have you lived in both cities? To be honest, if you haven't you really can't say. Going to Fargo to visit and do whatever you do doesn't give you a good perspective on the city and the area. Fargo and Grand Forks are so similiar it's not even funny.

Besides the obvious thing that have already been pointed out there are really no differences between the two cities.

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You have got to be kidding me. Fargo and Grand Forks are almost like night and day. One is almost three times as big as the other.

Would you say that Sioux Falls and Mankato are very similar???

[The Sicatoka]

If you're from around here, Fargo and Grand Forks are oh-so different towns.

To anyone from the outside looking in, they aren't different: They're both frozen outposts in god-forsaken North Dakota.

Perspective people, perspective.

[ScottM]

If you're from around here, Fargo and Grand Forks are oh-so different towns.

To anyone from the outside looking in, they aren't different: They're both frozen outposts in god-forsaken North Dakota.

Perspective people, perspective.

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I disagree. I think Fargo and GF are pretty much the same: Provincial, agricultural, retail-dependent and oh, so worried about what the other is doing. The mere fact that Fargo has more "sprawl" of slap-dash homes, apartments and strip malls, and a Hooters, doesn't really make it any better than GF. And yes, I can say that the Hooters in Fargo doesn't it give it any special bragging rights, unless one is really drunk.

And yes, they are both frozen outposts, but then I've found I like 60 degree days in January.

[U2Bad1]

Hey guys.. wanna drop our pants and compare.......................

[U2Bad1]

I disagree. I think Fargo and GF are pretty much the same: Provincial, agricultural, retail-dependent and oh, so worried about what the other is doing. The mere fact that Fargo has more "sprawl" of slap-dash homes, apartments and strip malls, and a Hooters, doesn't really make it any better than GF. And yes, I can say that the Hooters in Fargo doesn't it give it any special bragging rights, unless one is really drunk.

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Dont forget that Fargo has much worse traffic. Gotta love that part about Fargo.

[PCM]

Dont forget that Fargo has much worse traffic. Gotta love that part about Fargo. 

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I think the Sicatoka's point that it's all relative to where you've lived. The "bad" traffic I've experienced in Fargo would be considered nothing more than a minor delay in, say, Denver. To people in New York, Fargo is Grand Forks and Grand Forks is Fargo. They'd think the differences we're arguing about is splitting hairs.

[Bison Dan]

[The Sicatoka]

Yea gf city leaders would give their left arm for that "ugly sprawl"!

Woe is Grand Forks. They'll just have to suffer with the architecturally planned Bronson property developments around REA.

[IowaBison]

From my stand point, GF and Fargo and extremely similar AS ARE MOST CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

Here's a short list: of unique things, the employers and cultural things that make us slightly different than other cities

Unique things about GF:

University

Sioux Hockey

AFB

The Flood

Unique Things about Fargo:

University

Trendy Downtown (a little too trendy for me)

Microsoft

Noridian

You pull these things out of the equation (a couple of other things I missed) and we are living in the SAME d$#n town, sure Fargo is bigger, big deal

We've got a Target and a Walmart and .....

This is the same situation nationwide.

[PCM]

Actually, there are people in Grand Forks who complain about sprawl, mainly in the area around Columbia Mall. It's all relative to where you live and what you consider "sprawl."

Fargo has certain geographical advantages that Grand Forks will never have. Neither city has natural wonders that will make it a tourist destination.

Grand Forks needs to figure out what its strengths are and plan a growth strategy that emphasizes them. Wanting to be like Fargo doesn't cut it.

[ScottM]

Trendy Downtown (a little too trendy for me)

Fargo, "trendy"? BAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OMG, that is precious.

It's almost as funny as that article in Minneapolis-St. Paul magazine a few years ago, where it proclaimed Minneapolis "as hip as New York City."

"Trendy" ... yep, that one coffee house on Broadway really put Fargo on the cutting edge.

[dakotadan]

Greater phoenix: 3.4 Million

Denver Metro: 2.4 Million

Metro Nashville: 1.23 Million

Now do they seem a LITTLE bit more comparable? Especially when you are comparing cultural areas such as attractions, museums, shopping, dining and nightlife.

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I already made this point but I figured I would post it again.

If you look at these 2 cities compared to the grand scheme of the country, Fargo and GF are identical twins who do nothing but fight.

[BigGreyAnt41]

You have got to be kidding me. Fargo and Grand Forks are almost like night and day. One is almost three times as big as the other.

Would you say that Sioux Falls and Mankato are very similar???

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Is that the argument? Population? Does that really make you feel superior because you live in an area with a higher population? That simple fact doesn't make two different cities as different as night and day.

And as for Sioux Falls and Mankato, I can't exactly comment on that, because I haven't lived in either of those town, much less both of them.

So I really encourage all of you who have not lived in both to stop arguing, for you have no basis for argument.