1. It’s the thirty-ninth State… or the fortieth… or maybe even the fiftieth!
Did you think that Hawaii was the 50th state ? Well , you ( and most other people ) might have been wrong . pore over diachronic records some year ago , retire North Dakotan account teacher John Rolczynski note something missing when the Constitution was eviscerate up in 1889 . The U.S. Constitution mandates that senators , representatives , country legislator and “ all executive and judicial police officer ” take an oath to uphold the Constitution . By forgetting to include that line , Rolczynski believe , North Dakota defied the U.S. Constitution . North Dakotans will vote in November 2012 on whether they take to “ clarify ” their statehood .
2. It has an Enchanted Highway.
North Dakota is ill-famed for long roads surround by nothing but grassland and farms . To divulge up the boredom on the mode to the townsfolk of Regent ( in the south of the state ) , retired schoolteacher and principal Gary Greff had a fresh thought : huge scrap metal sculpture every few miles . Since 1991 , without attending a single art class , he has constructed seven towering sculptures , all made of recycled metal , on the Enchanted Highway ( as the route to Regent has now been renamed ) . “ Geese in Flight , ” erected in 2001 , hold the Guinness World Record as the largest metal sculpture in the world . fabricate from used oil - well pipes and oil tanks , it is 156 foot long , 100 feet tall , and weighs 75 loads . Greff still has another four sculpture to build , but is presently sharpen on building a new hotel out of a disused school in Regent , in the shape of a castle . Its name : The Enchanted Castle .
3. The economy is booming.
As fellow _ flosser Matthew Hickmanpointed out last week , North Dakota has been blessed with an expanding economy and low unemployment , thanks to vast oil reserves . Currently , they are undergo their third major oil windfall – principally because Modern technology allows them to exploit into the oil reserves to the north of the commonwealth , which antecedently could n’t be bore sustainably . The northerly half of the state is a hive of business , as worker from around the area move to the oilfields . local anaesthetic – who have long seen their good and brightest graduate move to Washington or California to pursue their careers – now laugh at the fact that workers from Washington and California are flocking to North Dakota for work . The roadstead , never retrace for large volume of traffic , are being reconstruct to cope with their frequent use by heavy vehicle . In some regions , there are five Book of Job uncommitted for every person looking for work .
4. It’s a food basket to the nation.
For all the crude , the number one diligence is still farming , which directly apply nearly a one-quarter of the population . There are 30,000 family farms and ranches ( average farm sizing : 1,300 estate ) , and farms take up about 90 pct of the state ( that ’s 39 million acres ) . Idaho has its white potato , and Iowa has its corn , but North Dakota is the country ’s number one producer of spring wheat berry ( nearly half the state ’s amount ) , durum straw , helianthus , barley , oats , lentils , honey , edible beans , canola and flaxseed . It also grows mass of murphy and corn , give thanks you very much .
5. It changed the rules of meatpacking.
North Dakota ’s most popular holidaymaker spot is the Wild West townsfolk of Medora , base in 1883 by a Gallic Lord , the Marquis de Mores . The Marquis , who came to the Dakota Territory to begin a meat-packing business industrial plant , was a pioneer . His peachy innovation was refrigerated heart and soul … which was impressive , because refrigerator were n’t widely usable back then . However , the economy of meat packing made him guess of new ideas . Rather than crowd the cows into a railroad carrier , then send them to the slaughterhouse in Chicago , he would have them slaughter in the North Dakota , dress the meat and pack it in boxcars with slabs of ice . Most of the beef would arrive safely in Chicago .
6. It made a man out of Teddy Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt was jazz as one of America ’s slap-up action - human presidents – huntsman , rancher , Equus caballus - rider , warfare hoagy . But in his younger old age , he was a frail , washy , wheezy dandy whose poor wellness had made his childhood a conflict . While studying at Harvard , he was told by his personal physician that he did n’t have long to survive . But from 1883 , at the age of 25 , he dwell in the Dakota Territory ( which would be North Dakota six twelvemonth later ) . fall in lovemaking with the wilderness of the Little Missouri River Valley ( which reminded him of the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe ) , he became a rancher and buffalo - hunter . By the fourth dimension he left North Dakota in 1886 , he was a tan , hefty figure who , harmonize to one reporter , was “ lusty and strong enough to drive oxen . ”
“ I never would have been President is it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota , ” he later tell . Though he was born in New York , North Dakota was likely his favourite land . Even if it was n’t , North Dakotans are happy to exact him . His metre in ND also inspired his love for nature and preservation , and he later declared the first National Parks . The wilderness area that he adored became the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 1947 .
7. You might have seen it inFargo(if you didn’t blink).
North Dakota ’s orotund and most famous metropolis , Fargo , has a population of 105,549 . However , much of its celebrity is due to the Coen Brothers ’ 1996 movie of that name , which revealed slight about the city aside from the snowy weather and the malicious nature of some of its locals . It was hardly the best publicity for the town , which is especially unjust becauseFargowas ground mistily on two true events , both of which happened in Minnesota . ( It open with the words “ This is a true fib , ” which is a slight exaggeration . ) The movie was also filmed primarily in Minnesota . However , the white exteriors were germinate in Fargo , which is indeed known for virulent winters where the temperature falls below 0 degrees Fahrenheit .
8. It’s a great place forA Christmas Carol.
Almost every weekend , in a town somewhere in North Dakota , there is some sort of festival to entice visitor : a goose festival ( GooseFest ) in Kenmare , a duck festival ( Duckfest ) in Bowdon , a grapeshot and garlic fete ( if you could believe that combo ) in Minot , a spare ribs festival and an apple festival in Bismarck , a BBQ turkey festival in Lakota , an oil fete in Williston . But for on-key festivity , few can beat the town of Garrison . They started take out in visitors with a jack salmon fishing competition , but 20 years ago , due to a beloved for Dickens’A Christmas Carol , a Dickens Festival was started . mass now inflict , in the weeks before Christmas each yr , to find the topical anesthetic roam the streets garnish like characters from a Victorian - era English novel , and see the recreational theatrical troupe produce various version of the story of Ebenezer Scrooge .
While the Dickens Festival brings people from around the state , Garrison ’s festival sport does n’t check there . “ Someone was a kite - flying aficionado , so we start the Kite Festival , which has become very pop , ” says one of the Dickens Festival organizers , Jude Iverson . They even have a beach party in recent August , on the bank of the mighty Lake Missouri . Not exactly Malibu , but students bang it .
9. It was a favorite spot for Lewis and Clark.
The explorers Lewis and Clark , on their famous two - year expedition of territory beyond the Mississippi , spent more time in North Dakota than in any other state of matter – or at least , they would have if the area were already comprised of states . In October 1804 , not far from North Dakota ’s present - day capital city of Bismarck , they were conjoin by a Canadian fur bargainer and his wife , Sacagawea , a local girl who became their translator . Sacagawea , a fellow member of the Shoshone tribe , is regarded very highly by North Dakotans for her brain , brawn ( she carried her first child on her back throughout the journey ) and knockout ( she has been immortalized in bronze statues throughout the State ) . In fact , she is a penis of North Dakota ’s Cowboy Hall of Fame . She never even met a cowboy , but this is much the state ’s highest honor .
