Greater Grand Forks
The Greater Grand Forks is an area made up of two cities close together: Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Together, they form what is officially called the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan statistical area. This means it includes all of Grand Forks County in North Dakota and Polk County in Minnesota.
According to the 2020 census, about 104,000 people lived in this area, and in 2024, the number was still close to that. Some people call this place The Forks, and a few years ago, some local groups tried to call it The Grand Cities. However, most people still use the name Greater Grand Forks. Sometimes, Grand Forks itself is nicknamed "The Sunflake City."
Counties
The Greater Grand Forks area includes two counties.
- Grand Forks (73,771)
- Polk (30,413)
Communities
The Greater Grand Forks area includes many places where people live. The main cities are Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN. Other towns and smaller communities are also part of this area.
Demographics
The Greater Grand Forks area had 104,362 people living there during the 2020 census. This area includes parts of North Dakota and Minnesota, with two main cities called Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
People in this area come from many different backgrounds. Most people identified as White, but there were also many African American, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino people living there. The area has people of many ages, with the median age being 31.8 years. Many families and households call this place home.
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 17,681 | — | |
| 1890 | 48,549 | 174.6% | |
| 1900 | 59,888 | 23.4% | |
| 1910 | 63,889 | 6.7% | |
| 1920 | 65,885 | 3.1% | |
| 1930 | 67,975 | 3.2% | |
| 1940 | 72,252 | 6.3% | |
| 1950 | 75,348 | 4.3% | |
| 1960 | 84,859 | 12.6% | |
| 1970 | 95,537 | 12.6% | |
| 1980 | 100,944 | 5.7% | |
| 1990 | 103,181 | 2.2% | |
| 2000 | 97,478 | −5.5% | |
| 2010 | 98,461 | 1.0% | |
| 2020 | 104,362 | 6.0% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 104,184 | −0.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020 | |||
Education
K-12
Public schools
The Grand Forks Public Schools help students in Grand Forks and Grand Forks Air Force Base. This group has 12 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, an alternative high school, a place for adults to learn, and a Head Start program for young children.
The East Grand Forks School District helps students in East Grand Forks and nearby countryside. It includes two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.
The Crookston School District 593 serves Crookston and the surrounding rural areas. It has two elementary schools and one high school.
Private schools
In Grand Forks, St. Michael's Catholic Church and Holy Family Catholic Church each have Catholic elementary schools. There are no Catholic middle or high schools in Grand Forks, but Sacred Heart Catholic Church in East Grand Forks has a school for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. East Grand Forks also has Riverside Christian School, which is an elementary school for all types of beliefs.
Higher education
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks)
- Northland Community & Technical College (East Grand Forks)
- University of Minnesota Crookston (Crookston)
also has a campus in Thief River Falls, Minnesota
Media
See Media in Grand Forks, North Dakota for a list of newspapers, television stations, and radio stations.
The main daily newspaper is the Grand Forks Herald. Another daily paper is the Crookston Daily Times from Crookston. The Exponent in East Grand Forks is a weekly paper. The Dakota Student is a student newspaper from the University of North Dakota. There are also several other weekly newspapers in the area, such as the Hillsboro Banner.
Television
The area gets all major TV networks through air, cable, and satellite services. The main cable company is Midcontinent Communications.
Local TV stations include:
- KRDK-TV Channel 4 (CBS) – based in Fargo, ND
- WDAZ-TV Channel 8 (ABC)
- WDAZ-DT2 Channel 8.2, Cable channel 7 (The CW)
- KBRR Channel 10 (Fox) – rebroadcasts KVRR of Fargo, ND
- KVLY-TV Channel 11 (NBC)
- KCGE Digital Channel 16 (PBS) – cable channel 13
- K17HG Channel 17 (3ABN) – religious programming
- KCPM Channel 27 (MNTV) – cable channel 9
- K49FF Channel 49 (TBN) – religious programming
Radio
See Media in Grand Forks, North Dakota for a list of all radio stations
There are many radio stations in the area. Most are owned by Clear Channel Communications or Leighton Broadcasting. The area also has stations from North Dakota Public Radio and Minnesota Public Radio. Some religious groups also have Christian radio stations.
Keep exploring
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Greater Grand Forks, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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