North Dakota
Trump policies leave North Dakota summer tourism prospects uncertain
By: Michael Standaert, North Dakota News Cooperative
WALHALLA, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Communities and businesses near sites administered by the National Park Service and those reliant on Canadian tourists are facing uncertainty after recent policy decisions by the Trump administration.
After the firing of 1,000 National Park Service workers on Feb. 14 along with tariffs against Canada and barbs issued by President Donald Trump and others in his administration referring to our neighbor to the north as the “51st state,” informal boycotts ensued and the economic impact is already being reported.
On Feb. 3, the U.S. Travel Association estimated a 10% reduction in Canadian tourist visits would result in $2.1 billion in lost travel spending and 14,000 job losses nationwide following the Trump administration’s first salvo on tariffs.
While initially paused for a month, President Trump announced on Feb. 25 that the tariffs would go ahead as planned on March 4.
Informal Canadian travel boycotts
Some businesses in North Dakota have already begun to feel the impact of fewer Canadian tourists.
Frost Fire Park, a ski resort near Walhalla in the northeast part of the state, recently saw a drop in visitors.
“At least 25% or more,” the park’s general manager Patty Gorder said of the decline in the past month.
“I’ve even had emails where (Canadians) have taken the time to let me know how they feel about the whole situation and how they’re not wanting to support not only our business, but our state, because of what the state of North Dakota is standing behind,” Gorder said.
This includes people saying they’ll no longer use season passes they already hold, she said.
Since winter is almost over, the impacts may not be as great as they would have been if the Trump administration’s actions happened before the ski season.
Because the park is so close to the border and to Winkler, Manitoba, Gorder said around 75% of the clientele at Frost Fire is from Canada.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Gorder said.
The administration’s actions already impacted the Tourism and Marketing division of the state’s Department of Commerce as well, according to state tourism director Sara Otte Coleman.
This includes delaying a paid marketing campaign in Canada until there’s a better understanding of Canadian sentiment about traveling to North Dakota, she said.
“We have no way to project if our Canadian visitation numbers will decrease,” Otte Coleman said.
While Canadian border crossings increased around 10% in 2024 from the previous year, Otte Coleman said the state still lags behind pre-pandemic numbers.
Visits by Canadians are currently around 78% of what they were in 2019.
“We do not have detailed data on the number of Canadians visiting sites and events across the state, but know from tourism operators that Canadians are an important part of their visitation numbers,” Coleman said.
The International Peace Garden, which straddles the border near Bottineau and is operated jointly by a nonprofit board of American and Canadian members, has not yet had a considerable impact because the park is in its low season, said CEO Tim Chapman.
“We have received some feedback a few weeks ago from primarily Canadians, just kind of expressing dismay with some of the political rhetoric,” Chapman said.
Chapman said visitor numbers and revenue rebounded last year to meet or exceed 2019 numbers.
“One thing I’ve encouraged visitors who have been a little frustrated is to continue to visit, because I think most Americans and Canadians, regardless of what’s going on in politics, still really appreciate that cooperation and friendship that our countries have always had,” Chapman said.
Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., said she recognizes the strong ties between North Dakota and Canada and would like to see policies encouraging, not discouraging, cross-border travel and business.
Fedorchak said she believed the proposed tariffs had been effective in pushing Canada to address fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.
Canada is the top destination for North Dakota exports, with the state sending $5.9 billion in goods to Canada in 2023, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. That represents 79% of North Dakota’s foreign exports.
North Dakota also imports more from Canada than from any other country, with around $3 billion in goods annually coming south.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park staffing
Another area of concern relates to the firing of permanent staff at sites administered by the National Park Service and how this could impact services in the park and tourism in surrounding communities.
In North Dakota, this includes the state’s most visited tourist site of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, as well as Fort Union Trading Post straddling the border with Montana, Knife River Indian Villages near Stanton, and upkeep of both the North County and Lewis & Clark national trails.
Representatives of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the National Park Service Midwest regional office out of Omaha, Nebraska, declined to comment on personnel matters when contacted by NDNC.
Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, which is tracking the firings and impacts, said he’s confirmed at least three permanent staff at Theodore Roosevelt National Park were fired on Feb. 14.
What kind of positions were axed at the park are not known, he said. Wade is also uncertain about any firings at Fort Union or Knife River.
“What we know from the numbers that we have nationwide, it seems that the functions in parks that were hit the hardest were those staff that do the interpretation and education, the visitor centers, staff that give the programs, do school groups, things like that,” Wade said.
Others let go include workers at park entrance stations and custodial staff, Wade said. Loss of those workers could lead to longer waits to enter parks and facilities that aren’t as well kept.
Staff at Fort Union declined to comment on any staff changes.
Wade indicated additional plans for staff reductions at the National Park Service are forthcoming and could occur in late March or early April.
“That suggests potentially many more layoffs,” Wade said.
In a statement in response to questions, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said that the National Park Service is still determining full-time staffing levels and there’s been no change for Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s seasonal hiring plans. He said the park expects it will be able to maintain its in-park experience for visitors.
Fedorchak said her team is currently looking into the situation with Theodore Roosevelt National Park and will continue engaging with stakeholders.
“I appreciate the concern folks in tourism and others have on the current federal funding uncertainty,” Fedorchak said. “I believe these disruptions will be short term and the summer tourism season won’t be impacted.”
Otte Coleman said the state Commerce department will have a delegation in Washington, D.C., in early April and hopes to get more clarity from the Department of Interior, now headed by former Gov. Doug Burgum, and the National Park Service.
Doug Ellison, former Medora mayor and owner of Amble Inn and Western Edge Books in Medora, said there’s been “some discussion and concern” about the impact of the staffing cuts on public services at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the community.
“We’ll see how the dust settles,” he said.
On the Canadian tourism side, Ellison didn’t think there’d be a huge impact on Medora but did say around 20% of bookstore customers are Canadian.
Border restrictions during the pandemic reduced numbers coming down from Canada, so those impacts were already “very noticeable” in recent years, he said.
FARGO — Drivers can expect to see a slight uptick in gas prices as a result of the Iran conflict.
As of Monday, March 2, the average for North Dakota is $2.65 a gallon. While that is a $0.13 increase from a month ago, it is significantly lower than prices a year ago.
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GRAND FORKS – The Study ND, formerly Humanities North Dakota, has received $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts for a statewide theater and humanities initiative in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
This commemorative investment is meant to bring historical events and figures – such as the framers of the U.S. Constitution – to life through virtual and live performances that celebrate the nation’s history.
The grant, along with funding from private sources, has made it possible for The Study ND to host “America 250” activities after the organization sustained a considerable cut in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities last year, according to Brenna Gerhardt, The Study ND executive director.
“We absorbed a 50% budget cut, resulting in a loss of $467,645 in funding,” Gerhardt said. “As a result, we had to significantly scale back our American 250 initiatives focused on American history and civics education.”
Funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts will be used to present public readings, theatrical portrayals and guided discussions to encourage audience members to reflect on the nation’s founding in 1776 and on its democratic ideals, while engaging in contemporary conversations about civic life.
All of the programming in the series organized by The Study ND, titled “American Heroes,” will be livestreamed statewide.
In the grant application submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts, “we framed the project around a simple idea: democracy requires more than information, it requires citizens who can think historically, listen well, and argue in good faith,” Gerhardt said.
“This series uses living history performances to bring consequential figures into the room, then turns the room into a civic space through moderated dialogue and related public events. We define ‘heroism’ as civic courage under pressure, the willingness to contend with hard truths, and the capacity to enlarge a community’s moral imagination,” she said.
“The project does not ask audiences to agree on a single interpretation of a figure. It invites them to grapple with complexity together, and to connect the past to the responsibilities of the present.”
When Gerhardt and her colleagues received the application for grant proposals from the National Endowment for the Arts, “we were already planning a line-up of America 250 events and it fit perfectly with what we were already planning, so then we just wrote the grant,” she said.
Private funds, including matching funds from the Bismarck-based Tom and Frances Leach Foundation, have also been provided for this project.
Details about all the events will probably be posted on the website
www.TheStudyND.org
in March, Gerhardt said.
The America 250 events, which are planned to take place at Bismarck State College, are 5-6 p.m. July 8, “Reading of the Declaration of Independence, with John Adams,” and 6-7:30 p.m. July 9, “Alexander Hamilton Speaks,” both performed by William Chrystal.
The Living History programs are planned for 7-8:15 p.m. Sept. 17, “Thomas Paine,” performed by Doug Mishler, and Oct. 6, 7-8:15 p.m, “Frederick Douglass,” performed by Nathan Richardson. Both will be moderated by Susan Frontczak.
The performers Chrystal and Richardson live in Virginia, Frontczak in Colorado,and Mishler in Nevada.
Another program, “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” is set for Sept. 16-18 at Bismarck State College, Gerhardt said. “It is part of our broader Chautauqua/living history programming connected to America 250 … (and) will feature performances and discussion centered on Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, using their lives and writing as a way to explore major questions about American identity, war reporting, public memory, and the stories we tell about freedom, conflict and responsibility.
“What I am excited about with this event is that it gives us a way to approach America 250 beyond founding-era material. In other words, it helps us show the American story is not just about 1776, but also about the generations that followed and how Americans wrestled with democracy, power, truth and moral courage.”
This program “expands the initiative beyond commemoration into reflection, dialogue and interpretation, which is where the humanities are especially valuable,” she said. “It helps us reach audiences who may be drawn in through literature, journalism and performance, not only traditional history events.”
The Hemingway and Gellhorn program fits in with America 250 in that “it broadens the frame and adds depth to the larger effort.”
Gerhardt is hoping that these activities will give participants “a better understanding of all the debates and issues going on when our country was founded, and how those debates are continuing today,” she said, “and just to be more thoughtful and informed citizens.”
College students and members of the general public will also be invited to participate in a workshop aimed at teaching participants how to build a living history performance from primary sources and historical research.
Last year, The Study ND lost a substantial amount of funding – nearly $468,000, about half of its annual budget – from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its fiscal 2025 year.
The loss of that much funding was discouraging, Gerhardt said. “Very much so, because we had a lot of activities planned for America 250 and we had to cancel a lot of them, or – like in this case – seek other funding, which we were lucky to get.”
The Study ND currently has four full-time employees, she said. “We eliminated a part-time marketing position after the cuts.”
A nonprofit organization, The Study ND provides civics, arts and cultural education programming. The organization’s programs – which include online classes, book talks, lectures and more – reached about 24,000 people in 2024, Gerhardt told the North Dakota Monitor in April 2025.
During the summer, the organization hosts a civics education program for high school and middle school social studies teachers, she said.
On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men
Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.
Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.
First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.
None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.
Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
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