North Dakota spreads wealth to help communities celebrate America’s 250th birthday

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Events, concerts, community initiatives and educational opportunities will headline a year of celebration in North Dakota for the 250th birthday of the United States.

The ND250 Commission has awarded about $142,000 through two rounds of its Community Initiatives Grant program for events and projects around the state, said Melissa Klocke-Joyce, program coordinator. The programs and events will tell the story of North Dakota’s role in the country’s early history, she said.

“It gives communities an opportunity to get creative,” Klocke-Joyce said.

The ND250 Commission made awards to 15 initiatives on Wednesday, in addition to five grants awarded in November. About $32,000 remains for the final round of grants, with applications accepted through April 1.

Bill Peterson, director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota chair of the ND250 Commission, said the grants represent more than funding.

“They’re an investment in how communities across North Dakota share their piece of the American story,” Peterson said in a statement. “From murals and musical theater to lectures and living history, these projects help connect people to the past in ways that are meaningful, engaging, and rooted in local pride.”

The program also awards participating North Dakota schools up to $1,000 to be used as field trip grants to bring students to the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck to see two exhibits dedicated to the anniversary – the Founders Museum exhibit and the Heritage Center’s own ND250 exhibit that will be installed by July 4, Klocke-Joyce said.

A national Founders Museum exhibit will feature content provided by the White House, including portraits of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and their insights on what independence meant to them, said Kara Haff, public information officer for the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

The content will be available through a large touch screen at the Heritage Center that will show the portraits and play videos. A second kiosk will be installed at the Capitol.

“They are also featuring some of the females that were involved as well … Martha Washington will be featured and a number of other females in addition to the men,” Haff said.

The Heritage Center will add an ND250 display in the Governor’s Gallery titled ND250 Roadtrip: Our American Story that will feature the history of the territory and an envisioned future of the next 250 years.

One grant was awarded to the Pembina Historical Society in November and will commission a colonial-style cider press for their community orchard.

“We really want to try to tie in celebrating the 250th, and what better way to do it than demonstrating how people lived back in that time,” Klocke-Joyce said.

Woodworker Talon Stammen, designer of the Pembina cider press said he hopes the portable press will be used across the region because that’s how colonists lived, through shared infrastructure and equipment.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation received a $10,000 ND250 grant to create lesson plans for North Dakota students about the history and ideals behind the Declaration of Independence.

Matt Briney, spokesperson for the library foundation, said the money will be used to provide a stipend for North Dakota teachers to design the lesson plans.

He said studies, like one released in 2023 by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, identified that only two-thirds of U.S. adults could name the three branches of government.

Briney added the lessons will be free for other teachers to use.

Other grants awarded include $10,000 for a project in Sheyenne to record oral histories from regional residents; $5,000 for the city of Beach for a community art sculpture; and $9,000 for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa for a public historical exhibit interpreting treaty-making, land negotiations, federal policy shifts and cultural traditions;.

Klocke-Joyce said she expects events to celebrate America’s milestone birthday will continue to be announced, and the ND250 website will update its calendar as more plans are finalized.

Haff encouraged organizers of any of the 250th birthday events across the state to take photos, video and document as much as they can because the State Archives wants their content to create an in-depth catalog of America’s milestone birthday.

“One hundred years from now, when they are reflecting back on what we’ve accomplished, they can pull this out and say, ‘oh my gosh, look at how amazing ND250 was,’” Haff said.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com.