09-05-2025
Mayor Brandon Bochenski outlines 'an extremely exciting time in Grand Forks'
May 8—GRAND FORKS — Burgeoning development along the city's western edge is a Grand Forks highlight, Mayor Brandon Bochenski said during his every-other-year State of the City address Thursday.
One amenity that will open soon and two projects that are soon to begin construction will make 42nd Street a destination, the mayor said. And as those projects come online, a street construction project — set to begin next year — will ease congestion in the area.
The Career Impact Academy, near the intersection of North 42nd and Gateway Drive, will open this fall and offer technical education classes, both for high school students and adults. The $30.5 million facility was boosted by more than $11 million in local fundraising.
A mile or so south of there, work is expected to begin this summer on the $110 million Altru Sports Complex, a public sports and workout facility that will be built just south of the Alerus Center. Along with a $10 million donation from Altru, funding for the project will come from an existing sales tax, which helped build and maintain the Alerus Center and which was extended in a citywide vote in 2023. A ceremonial groundbreaking on the building — which already is coming in millions of dollars under budget — is expected next month.
Also near that site, the Grand Forks Children's Museum is planned. A $42 million fundraising campaign is underway, with a goal to break ground later this summer. Almost $30 million has been generated so far, Bochenski said.
Work on a new underpass — allowing traffic to freely flow underneath existing railroad tracks at the corner of 42nd and DeMers Avenue — is expected to begin in 2026.
"All three projects ... are located on 42nd Street, which is becoming an increasingly important stretch of our community," Bochenski said.
Several hundred attended the State of the City, which Bochenski last gave in 2023 and, prior to that, in 2021. As usual, the event — which was followed by a social hour — was held at the Alerus Center.
"We've been doing these about every two years and, quite frankly, we have been so busy, with so much going on, that it's hard to find the time," he said. "It's impossible to highlight everything, but I'd rather have too much to talk about than not enough."
Bochenski took office in June 2020, earning the seat with a win over longtime incumbent Mike Brown. His five years in office have seen a number of major initiatives and developments, ranging from infrastructure (such as improvements to the city's wastewater system), to air service improvements (such as work to attract another commercial airline) to quality-of-life developments (such as the projects on 42nd Street).
And, of course, there are always streets to fix.
He said the city continues to perform well from a budgeting standpoint, recently completing its fifth consecutive year with a budget surplus — proof of "prudent and conservative budgeting," he said. Reserve funds have grown, he reported, and "the city continues to cut expenses while making investments that improve our roads, health and quality of life."
He thanked members of City Council and city employees for their work on keeping city finances in check.
And with money apparently in the city's pot, the mayor's speech inevitably turned to a community flashpoint: potholes.
"As an economics major, I get most excited about the numbers and our finances, but probably one of the most visible and often talked-about subjects for any city is the roads and their condition," he said.
In 2023, as portions of 32nd Avenue were crumbling after the spring thaw, Bochenski opened that year's State of the City speech with a promise to fix the city's pockmarked streets. Thursday, he called street maintenance in general a "constant battle" and said things must have improved, since he doesn't hear nearly the number of complaints he was fielding two years ago.
"Thankfully, with the updates to our roads, we have had minimal pothole issues this spring," he said. "If you can believe this, I haven't had a single caller on KNOX bring up potholes in more than a year. ... I applaud our Streets Department and engineering staff for not giving up the fight and working hard to stay ahead of major problems."
About halfway through his speech, Bochenski invited three other elected officials to give updates on their respective boards. Dave Berger, representing the School Board; Kimberly Hagen, representing the Grand Forks County Commission; and Russell Kraft, representing the Park Board, each spoke for a few minutes while seated on the stage.
"It is an extremely exciting time in Grand Forks and I am truly grateful to get to be a small part of it," Bochenski said at the conclusion of the hour-long event. "We highlight big projects and exciting developments, but that's not really what makes a city good. What makes a city good is getting the day-to-day tasks done and done well. There's no glory in it and it's not glamorous."
Among the other bullet points from the mayor's speech:
—He thanked city employees — numbering more than 500 — for their work and handling "the daily tasks to keep our city running smoothly."
—The new water treatment plant "continues to perform extremely well," he said, and $100 million in wastewater infrastructure improvements that have been happening in recent years have gone nearly unnoticed. City crews have been working to replace or rebuild a number of the 77 pumps that are dotted throughout the city's map and which are essential to keeping rising water levels at bay.
—Planned agribusiness projects are important because, Bochenski said, "no matter how great other industries are doing, the driver of our economy is agriculture." He cited the proposed $450 million Agristo project, which if built as planned will prompt millions of dollars of economic impact and additional ag investment. A large soybean project by Epitome Energy is getting closer to construction too, the mayor noted.
—He touched on the work of the police and fire departments, the former of which is under new leadership. Chief Jason Freedman took over earlier this year after the retirement of Mark Nelson.
—Noting the new Altru Hospital and two new schools, Bochenski said "I have no doubt we have some of the best teachers, doctors and staff in the nation, and now we have the facilities to match." Along with the hospital project, he said the city is benefiting from an expanded and updated Grand Forks Senior Center, scheduled to be completed in July and largely funded by $2.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds.
—Bochenski lauded the recent Honor Flights that took Grand Forks-area veterans to Washington, D.C., and also noted the growth in mission and importance of Grand Forks Air Force Base.
—Near the base, the GrandSky aviation business park "has been key to connecting public and private-sector industry and allows Grand Forks to continue to be on the leading edge of technology, whether it's unmanned aerial systems, data collection or beyond-visual-line-of-sight flying and testing." Similarly, the downtown city-owned HIVE building is fostering business growth, especially in the UAS and tech industries, Bochenski said.
—"I could not be more proud of the growth and development that is happening at my alma mater," Bochenski said of UND. He commended President Andy Armacost and mentioned that enrollment is north of 15,000. The city has worked closely with UND on recent projects, including Memorial Village I, which is up and running, and Memorial Village II, which will be open in the fall.
—He updated the audience on the Air Service Task Force, which he formed to "to grow local air service and take back market share from Minneapolis, Winnipeg and Fargo." His goal is to bring additional flights to Grand Forks by the end of 2026, hopefully lowering costs and increasing convenience for travelers.
—Bocheski acknowledged that with community and business growth, "housing will be a challenge." He said he and others continue to work to increase the inventory in partnership with local builders. One of those partnerships is downtown, at the former city water treatment plant.
