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I'm an entrepreneur who has lived in Washington, Texas, Ireland, and North Dakota. My favorite place has incredible community support for small businesses.

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I'm an entrepreneur who has lived in Washington, Texas, Ireland, and North Dakota. My favorite place has incredible community support for small businesses.


  • Jaymes O’Pheron is an entrepreneur who has lived all over the world.
  • He and his wife moved from Washington state to Fargo, North Dakota, in 2021.
  • O’Pheron said the Midwest locale is his favorite because of its strong community.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jaymes O’Pheron, a 34-year-old entrepreneur who moved from Aberdeen, Washington, to Fargo, North Dakota, in 2021.

The Fargo-Moorhead area, home to about 261,000 people, has seen a significant population uptick in recent years and is expected to reach almost 340,000 people by 2045, a 35% growth rate, according to the Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corp.

My family is a bit odd. I’m the oldest of eight and grew up in a very sheltered, religiously-minded family. I spent most of my childhood in Washington state, outside Vancouver and across the river from Portland. When I was 17, my dad got a job in Texas, so we moved South.

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After that, we deliberately decided as a family to leave America. We picked Ireland because, at the time, it was the last English-speaking nation that did not allow abortion. We wanted to support that.

I absolutely loved Ireland. The weather, the people, the history, the language, the food, the music, the pace of life, the cities, the way it’s designed — it’s very communal.

After four years in Ireland, though, some personal issues led me to move back to Washington in 2012. I met my wife in Aberdeen, and we got married in 2018.

But we knew we weren’t going to stick around Washington forever. We had been experiencing some health issues that we eventually traced back to mold allergies. We realized we were biologically incompatible with mold and how damp and moldy the Northwest is. We couldn’t live there.

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We wanted to find a permanent home, so we started researching potential places to move in 2019.

We tried to be intentional about where we ended up. We narrowed it down to a few places with favorable economic and regulatory aspects and a positive culture.

Then, we visited Fargo, and we knew this was the place. We officially moved in May 2021.


Storefronts in Fargo

O’Pheron said he loves Fargo’s small-town heart and big-city energy.

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Fargo is very friendly to startups

I’m a serial entrepreneur. I can’t stop starting things, both nonprofit and for-profit. Right now, I’m primarily focusing on my nonprofit, which is focused on empowering people to be change-makers in their communities.

I’m also a freelance coach for career performance, communication, networking, and burnout prevention.

The community support here in Fargo is incredible. That was hugely important as I was trying to build up my coaching business. I needed a larger metro center to network, but I also needed a regulatory environment conducive to small business startups.

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Fargo is a great place for small business startups, a huge part of which is due to the community. The people recognize that we need to support one another. Being an entrepreneur is emotionally difficult and risky. Having people around you cheering you on and having your back is incredibly valuable.

That community support is unique from all the other places I’ve lived. You can walk out onto the street and make friends with anyone.

We are definitely putting down roots here. We want our great-grandchildren to live here, so we started looking for a place to buy.

We found a beautiful home. I’m on the HOA board. There are a lot of benefits and assistance in North Dakota for people who are first-time home buyers.

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In Washington, I was living in a studio apartment. We paid about the same rate here in Fargo for our two-bedroom apartment, which was twice the square footage, just outside downtown.

It’s one of the best places in the country as far as the ratio between low cost of living and high-paying jobs goes. The quality of living is high. There are a lot of job opportunities here.


Snow storm in Fargo

Fargo’s winters are notoriously harsh.

Daniel Barry/Getty Images

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Fargo is my favorite place I’ve lived

I just love Fargo. It’s my favorite of all the places I’ve lived because I have all my favorite people here. I have better friends here than I’ve had in my entire life. My favorite part is the community.

When we first drove to Fargo, it felt like we were driving home. There’s something about the scale of the city that is very approachable. It is a downtown area with robust activity, but it also has that small-town feel. It feels very safe and welcoming.

We had new friends from church help us move into an apartment immediately. We had met the pastor when we first got to Fargo, and he put out a call to the parish, and they all showed up to help us.

Because it’s a college town, there’s a lot of youthful energy and idealism. It’s also on the border of Minnesota, a blue state. So, Fargo is a true purple city. There’s a lot of diversity of thought and opinions. People actually have conversations, which is cool.

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The one thing we were anticipating having to adjust to was the weather. We made sure we did all the preparation. We changed our car battery and got the right kinds of tires.

We had a really hard winter our first year there. But it was fun. I shoveled snow from our patio into the bathtub and took an ice bath. The cold weather actually leads to the quality of the community here. People help one another because we’re all in it together.

Fargo is growing quickly. One of the issues we’re dealing with is where to put all the people. We don’t want to create sky-high prices or spread out too far so people can’t commute. The city is trying to strike that balance of small-town heart and big-town body that we love so much.

As a burnout coach, I know that the silver bullet is community. We need to be able to connect with people around us authentically. Loneliness is killing us. So, it’s a luxury to have people here at Fargo whom I can rely on.

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I think others who value community should look at Fargo. It’s an amazing place to be.





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Washington

First confirmed case of measles in Washington, D.C. investigated by health officials

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First confirmed case of measles in Washington, D.C. investigated by health officials


A confirmed case of measles in Washington, D.C. is being investigated by health officials after the contagious person visited several locations in the district.

The DC Department of Health warned the public of the potential exposure in a press release shared late Tuesday morning.

TENNESSEE REPORTS FIRST MEASLES CASE AMID U.S. OUTBREAK

According to the release, those who were in the following places in the district at the listed times may have been exposed:

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Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train (Southbound): March 19, 7:30 p.m. through 1:30 a.m.

Amtrak Concourse, Union Station: March 19, 11:00 p.m. through 1:30 a.m.

MedStar Urgent Care, Adams Morgan: March 22, 7:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m.

A measles alert sign hangs outside the entrance to the Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where the state health department confirmed that a baby tested positive and that there is a possibility of exposure to others at the facility, in New Hyde Park, New York, U.S., March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms usually start 7 to 14 days after exposure. Symptoms include a fever over 101°F as well as a cough, runny nose, and red or watery eyes.

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The most distinctive symptom of measles, appearing 3 to 5 days after onset of symptoms, is a rash that starts on the face and spreads across the body. Infected people can spread measles four days before the rash appears and up to four days afterward.

MARYLAND CONFIRMS FIRST MEASLES CASE IN TRAVELER AT MAJOR DC AIRPORT

If you have been exposed to measles or were at one of the locations shared by the DC Department of Health during the times listed and are not vaccinated, health officials recommend watching for symptoms until 21 days after exposure. 

If you are in Washington, D.C., health officials also recommend calling a doctor or DC Health at 844-493-2652 for additional guidance. Those exposed to measles are urged to stay home and avoid others if any symptoms appear.

Measles

A syringe is pictured ahead of MMR vaccination at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Annie Rice (REUTERS/Annie Rice)

Nearby Maryland experienced its first confirmed case of measles in a traveler at the Baltimore airport on March 10. The virus has swept much of the Northeast this winter.

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People who have received two doses of the MMR or measles vaccine or were born before 1957 are considered protected. Those with only one dose of the vaccine are mostly protected but may seek a second shot for full immunity. Measles is considered preventable with the MMR vaccine, which offers lifetime protection with two doses.

Measles

A view shows MMR vaccine at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. February 27, 2025. (REUTERS/Annie Rice)

Infants under 12 months old and those who are unvaccinated are considered most at-risk for measles.

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Measles has been on the rise across the nation this cold and flu season, with 327 cases reported in Texas as of Tuesday, March 25. 40 people have been hospitalized from the outbreak so far in the Lone Star State.

The CDC has confirmed a total of 378 cases nationwide as of March 20 in a release.

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Washington

Waymo plans to bring its driverless taxis to Washington in 2026

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Waymo plans to bring its driverless taxis to Washington in 2026


Waymo on Tuesday added Washington to its pioneering robotaxi service’s steadily expanding list of U.S. markets, although passengers will have to wait until next year until they can take a driverless ride around the nation’s capital city.

For now, Waymo’s robotaxis will continue to map Washington’s streets and corridors with a safety driver sitting behind the wheel to take control of the vehicle if something goes wrong — a precaution required under the regulations currently in force in the District of Columbia.

That’s something Waymo already has been doing since it began sending out its robotaxis in Washington in late January after a brief trial run in the capital last year.

While the robotaxis continue to learn their way around the city, Waymo executives expressed confidence they will be able to work with regulators to clear the way for completely driverless rides at some point next year through its Waymo One app.

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“We’re excited to bring the comfort, consistency, and safety of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those who work and play in the city every day, and the millions of people from around the world who travel to the District every year,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana.

If Waymo’s ambitions pan out, Washington and Miami next year will be added to four other U.S. markets where its robotaxis are transporting passengers — Phoenix, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas as part of a partnership with ride-hailing leader Uber. Waymo and Uber also are teaming up to begin dispatching its robotaxis in Atlanta later this year.

The growth has helped turn what began as a head-turning novelty in Phoenix and then in San Francisco into an increasingly common sight in the cities where Waymo operates. The company says it had provided more than 4 million driverless rides to paying customers through the end of this year, and is now providing them at a pace of 200,000 paid trips per week.

That has established Waymo as the early frontrunner in driverless technology while others are racing to catch up. Both Amazon and Tesla are gearing up to launch their own services in different U.S. cities while another ride-hailing service, Lyft, has announced plans to add robotaxis as an option in Atlanta and Dallas.

Waymo’s early lead in the still-nascent robotaxi market is a vindication of a technology that began as a secret project within Google in 2009 before it was spun off into a separate company owned by Alphabet Inc. in 2016.

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$6M Washington Avenue repaving moves forward before study results are in, raising concerns

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M Washington Avenue repaving moves forward before study results are in, raising concerns


HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — $6 million will soon be spent to repave a stretch of Washington Avenue along I-10 and Franklin Street.

The work, which is set to begin next week, will start just a few weeks before findings from a $700,000 study examining ways to improve the street are published.

The city requested the study in 2021 through the Houston Galveston Area Council, a regional planning organization.

Earlier this month Metro approved a $24 million request to repave streets. According to a Metro spokesperson, about six million dollars from the request is going toward repaving Washington.

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Board members said the decision was made at the request of the City of Houston.

“I understand that sometimes different parts of government go different speeds but it does seem like a bit of a lost opportunity,” Washington Avenue resident and West End Civic Club Member Matt Tetlow who helped participate in the H-Gac study, which sought resident feedback, said.

Transportation advocate, Peter Eccles, of Link Houston says the stretch of Washington being repaved is part of the city’s high-injury network,

In a statement, a Metro spokesperson told ABC13 the project will improve bus shelters and sidewalks while maintaining their original footprint.

They wrote, “With the work beginning on 1-10, commuters and our buses are getting diverted to Washington. We can’t continue to let the roads deteriorate while more and more drivers and our buses need to use them.”

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They added that they felt the improvement was imperative ahead of several large events such as the RNC and World Cup.

“Which is a small share of streets where the majority of serious and fatal crashes occur again, as the city and Metro work together to repave this street. They could use this as an opportunity to redesign it to address those issues,” he said.

For more updates on this story, follow Shannon Ryan on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Copyright © 2025 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.





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