Grand Forks

Welcome to Grand Forks!

Grand Forks is a city in northeast North Dakota, a state in the United States of America. With a population of about 57,000 people in 2017, it's the third largest urban area in the state. There are another 8,600 people in East Grand Forks on the other side of the Red River in Minnesota. Grand Forks is best known for the disastrous flood of 1997 and the productive nearby farms that grow mostly wheat and sugar beets. Grand Forks sits at the center of the former Lake Agassiz which is why this area is so incredibly flat.

Grand Forks (formally known as "Forks" 1870-1911) is the third-largest city in the American state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, forms the center of the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is often called Greater Grand Forks or the Grand Cities.

Located on the western banks of the north-flowing Red River of the North, in a flat region known as the Red River Valley, the city is prone to flooding. The Red River Flood of 1997 devastated the city. Originally called Les Grandes Fourches by French fur traders from Canada, who had long worked and lived in the region, steamboat captain Alexander Griggs platted a community after being forced to winter there. The post office was established in 1870, and the town was incorporated on February 22, 1881. The city was named for its location at the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River.Initially dependent on local agriculture, the city's economy has since broadened to include a wide variety of industries, including higher education, defense, health care, manufacturing, food processing, and scientific research. Grand Forks is served by Grand Forks International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. The city's University of North Dakota is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The Alerus Center and Ralph Engelstad Arena host athletic and other events, while the Empire Arts Center and Chester Fritz Auditorium are the city's largest cultural venues.