Grand Forks is located along the west bank of the Red River in North Dakota. Grand Forks was named of the fork in the rivers from the Red River and Red Lake River. Grand Forks has over 50,000 residents. It is home to the Fighting Hawks and Warriors of the North, that is University of North Dakota and Grand Forks Air Force Base, respectively.
Grand Forks is a great place to live and work. Some of the large or well-known employers of Grand Forks include:
- Altru Health System
- Amazon
- University of North Dakota
- Alerus Financial
- Edgewood Management
- Grand Forks Air Force Base
- Cirrus Aircraft
- LM Wind Power
- JLG Architects
- Simplot
- EERC
- Minnkota
- Northop Grumman
- General Atomics
- North Dakota Mill & Elevator
Other fun facts about Grand Forks – Places to go, things to do and food to eat.
- Downtown Grand Forks located along Demers Avenue by the river, is home to several coffee shops, restaurants, bars, lounges, banks, and shopping. One place that is the heart of downtown is the Town Square, corner of Demers Ave and 3rd St S. There seems to be something happening every weekend at the Town Square. During the summer months there is a farmers market on Saturday mornings, Blues on the Red, art shows, and 4th of July activities. During the winter months the Town Square gets transformed into an outdoor ice skating rink.
- The Greenway is nearly 2,200 acres of green space along the Red River on Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN sides of the river. Much of the space was created after the flood of 1997. There are trails, roadways, and boat rentals. The Greenway Takeover Festival happens in the fall along the Red River on the Grand Forks side of the river. The Festival has food trucks, jumpy houses, and free musical and entertainment acts for an entire weekend.
- Hockey Town USA is a title Grand Forks has held and takes pride in that title. The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks men’s hockey program plays at the Ralph Engelstad Arena during the winter months. Most of the games are sold out and tickets are hard to come by for the BIG games. Grand Forks is also home to the first gold medalists from North Dakota – Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson. There are several indoor hockey rinks in the community and nearly every park has an outdoor rink during the winter months.
- River Cities Speedway is one of the oldest dirt race tracks in the nation. It is on the list of historical places. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the dedication speech at the grandstand in 1937. Friday nights the grandstand is still packed. Races start at 7 PM during the spring, summer and fall.
