Cities are better when citizens are involved.—Mind Mixer

“Engage the Forks” was created to encourage citizens to get involved in conversations on important community issues. 

EngagetheForks.com is brought to you by the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, and Region, the City of Grand Forks, and the Chamber of Commerce of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.  Funding is from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The first two initiatives on engagetheforks.com are:

• North Valley/New Vision 360 or NV360.  NV360 is a region-wide community visioning and engagement project based on “The Soul of the Community”, a recent Knight/Gallup study. This study explores the connection between local economic growth and people’s emotional bond to a place.  See:  www.soulofthecommunity.org.  Community input from the NV360 project will offer direction to community leaders, organizations, and individuals as we create a better place to live, work, and play.  NV360 is a joint project of the Community Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, and the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
• Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Housing: During the 2012 Mayor's State of the City Speech, Grand Forks Mayor Michael R. Brown called for the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Housing.  The Housing commission is tasked with developing an accurate picture of the Grand Forks' Housing situation and proposing steps to strengthen it. This work is being done in three phases in partnership with the Grand Forks Housing Authority and other stakeholders. The three phases are: develop a snapshot of the current housing situation in Grand Forks; develop community priority directions to bolster housing opportunities in Grand Forks; and develop strategies to achieve the priorities.  EngageTheForks.com is an important community engagement tool for the Blue Ribbon Commission, which Mayor Brown says will be the most citizen-engaged effort the city of Grand Forks has undertaken to date.

Photos on this web site are courtesy of the Greater Grand Forks Visitors and Convention Bureau.