We in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area like to consider ourselves community-minded and up-to-speed about what’s happening in our community and the reasons for it.
But understanding, and I mean really understanding, requires us to recognize how our “border cities,” Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN face a hodge podge of disparities and similarities that create opportunities and challenges unique to these cities being one metro community yet separated by a state border, the Red River.
The Red is a Border and a Lot More
Everyone must abide by the law, but Fargo Mayor Dr. Tim Mahoney explains why we, as border city residents, need to be mindful that North Dakota and Minnesota laws do not always align, and that many opportunities would disappear if our border cities were in the same state.
“We know that speed limits, traffic fines, marijuana laws, economic incentives, as well as income, property and sales taxes, all change in different ways when you leave North Dakota and cross into Minnesota,” Mahoney said. “What residents may not realize is that when border cities try to collaborate on a joint project, sometimes the greatest challenges we face are the laws of the states involved.”
Cale Dunwoody, vice president of public policy at the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce, suggests a path for establishing that realization and moving forward with it.
“When policymakers and stakeholders on both sides of the river understand the nuances of our shared metro, we’re better positioned to develop solutions that reflect the reality of how we live, work and grow together,” Dunwoody said.
Interstate Marketing
The Fargo Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau (FMCVB) works with Minnesota’s and North Dakota’s state tourism offices to take advantage of cooperative advertising programs offered by both, according to the organization’s executive director Charley Johnson.
Although lawmakers may have differing perspectives and priorities, the FMCVB and the state tourism offices remain committed to empowering local organizations to advertise effectively. Their goal is to build and maintain a cohesive brand that promotes each city’s unique identity while highlighting the collective strength of the region as a unified community
Trollwood Park No More
As a former Fargo city planner and the current executive director at Moorhead Development Inc., Derrick LaPointe has seen border city issues intermingle from both sides of the border.
“With our border cities, differences do not have to be a barrier; they can be a bridge,” LaPointe said. “They can create a landscape rich with opportunity, where collaboration thrives and selected industries, arts, and more can be leveraged to their full potential.”
I owe a debt of gratitude to LaPointe for mentioning the arts as a border city issue of opportunity.
For years, Trollwood Performing Arts School held musicals at Trollwood Park in North Fargo. I grew up a few blocks away, attended them every summer, and felt they were a cornerstone of North Fargo pride.
I graduated, moved away, and suggested to Mom that we attend another during a visit home. She replied that Trollwood musicals had relocated to Bluestem Amphitheater in South Moorhead.
I felt betrayed. It seemed as if Trollwood Performing Arts School had turned its back on North Fargo and forgotten to change its name. I was wrong.
I was wrong, and my pride as a Trollwood musical attendee was rejuvenated through LaPointe’s explanation that the relocation is a prize won through collaborative embracement of the border city opportunities.
You see, as stated at the Trollwood Performing Arts School website, the school is a “Fargo Public Schools program that serves as the managing arm for Bluestem Center for the Arts in Moorhead, Minnesota,” and “the Bluestem Center for the Arts is an exciting collaboration between Fargo Public Schools and the city of Moorhead, serving as a testament to our region’s commitment to the arts.”
According to LaPointe, collaboration won. Trollwood and Fargo Public Schools gained more friendly taxes, a top-notch facility, a reliable pathway to state funding, and greater enthusiasm for the arts on both sides of the border.
Did You Know?
The 2025 Trollwood Performing Arts School’s mainstage musical is Momma Mia! It begins in midJuly. Scan the code to reserve your tickets!
What Time is It?
Shameless plug: people from Hawaii to New England have been clients of my strategic communications and writing business, Wordwork. However, planning multi-time zone virtual meetings can be nerve-wracking— when it’s 1 p.m. in Providence, Rhode Island, noon in Fargo, North Dakota, and 7 a.m. in Honolulu, HI. If Moorhead was added to the picture by having a different time from its border city neighbor, Fargo, every six months, I’ll have a major headache.
That scenario remains hypothetical, but the 2025 North Dakota Legislature did consider legislation to eliminate daylight saving time statewide. Had it been approved, crossing the Red River in the metro would mean entering a different time zone, not just a different city in a different state.
“The number of issues that would have resulted from this time change— with Minnesota being an hour different half the year—would have been a huge problem,” South Fargo Rep. Liz Conmy said.
“(FMCVB) opposed this idea based on the confusion it would have caused in a metro community covering two states. Putting them in two different time zones would have led to some level of chaos every day,” C. Johnson said.
The bill passed the House, was defeated in the Senate and illustrates how something as precise as a state line can trigger and perpetuate ambiguity.
Complexity of the Property Puzzle
Many people aspire to own a home, but most of us would probably get lost navigating the purchase process without the myriad of professional help, especially in our border cities.
“The regulatory differences between Minnesota and North Dakota can create an uneven playing field and complicate operations for businesses that span the metro,” Dunwoody said. Real estate is among them.
Homebuying and Selling
Katie Johansen is the president of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of REALTORS® and has been helping border city home sellers and buyers evaluate, determine, and optimize options for 12 years.
Fulfilling that duty requires awareness of unique border city issues, challenges, and opportunities that most people would not recognize even if they were in the listing.
“When I meet with clients who are considering which side of the river they’d like to be on, I encourage them to look at the big picture and what fits best with their financial situation and what they’re looking for in a home and a community,” Johansen said. “Many people tend to focus on the income tax differences between the two states, but it’s important to look at how that piece fits into the entire puzzle.”
She also said that realtors must have a deeper acumen for interstate real estate to ensure clients understand that not all pieces of the border cities puzzle match perfectly.
“As real estate professionals, our required knowledge base requires a bit more than in other areas of the state and country,” Johansen said. “As a border community working in two different states that do things differently from each other in many ways, we are required to know two sets of forms and be familiar with two sets of laws.”
Homebuilding
As border city residents, we also must understand that the homeownership puzzle encompasses more than homebuying and selling. Completing the puzzle requires perspectives from the collaborative and essential network of architects, engineers, and construction professionals, such as contractors, plumbers, electricians, and other tradespeople who design, build, and sustain homes in the first place.
They are professionals who know the ins and outs, ups and downs of the structures that realtors market, governments regulate and tax, and people invest massive amounts of money to attain.
The Building Industry Association of the Red River Valley represents hundreds of construction stakeholders on both sides in Minnesota and North Dakota.
“There are two different state governments which lead to regulatory and code differences. It influences (BIA) communications, education for compliance as well as advocacy efforts,” Executive Director Bryce Johnson said. “These differences impact building industry businesses directly, which leads to increased construction costs. Our mission includes promoting an environment of attainable housing, and these increased costs negatively impact attainability. The BIA’s priorities will change based on what is happening in each state and its urgency, requiring the ability to pivot when necessary.”
Advocacy requires reaching and convincing lawmakers and regulators to listen and understand the complexities existing in border cities.
Rep. Karla Rose Hanson represents a North Fargo district and said, “As lawmakers in a border community, we often hear our constituents compare policies between North Dakota and ask for policies that are more aligned and consistent with Minnesota.”
But in the case of building codes in our border cities, BIA advocates for Minnesota codes to align more closely with the codes in Fargo.
North Dakota enables cities and counties to adopt a home rule charter, and Fargo has moved forward by charging local regulators and industry experts to determine and modify building codes that best suit their border city. Whereas homes in Moorhead must be built according to a statewide building code.
“Building industry-related differences in regulatory and codes directly impact the end cost of construction and housing,” B. Johnson said. “It impacts the ability to construct housing between competing border cities and directly impacts the economy because the construction industry is an economic engine and job creator.’ In Minnesota, regulations and building codes often focus on the health and benefit of the metro areas, leaving greater Minnesota and particularly border cities in difficult situations.”
Licenses & Childcare Access
Many professions require a state license to practice, but acquiring a separate license for each state within a border community can make the process unnecessarily complicated and increase costs for licensees.
Rep. Scott Wagner serves North Fargo in the North Dakota Legislature and advocates for a unified system where licenses could be streamlined across state lines.
“If someone has a current license in a particular state, it could be honored in a new state that they want to work in,” Wagner said. “This would help establish uniform standards to lower barriers for individuals who need to be licensed in states where they seek to practice their profession and are currently licensed in a neighboring state.”
Further, Rep. Austin Foss, also of North Fargo, spoke to the North Dakota Legislature’s flexibility in using border cities as leverage for expanding access to childcare.
“In the House, we amended (legislation) to allow businesses in border cities to contribute to day cares within 10 miles across state lines,” Foss said. “This change responds to Fargo’s limited childcare options and the reality that some employees may rely on care in Moorhead. It’s a good example of how incentives sometimes need flexibility to work for border communities.
There’s More
These real and relevant examples of border cities’ issues are only a glimpse into unique and never-ending opportunities and challenges existing in the Fargo-Moorhead metro, thanks to the state border flowing through it. They are interconnected but never uniform, yet, these are always impactful things to consider.
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