OurFargo.com

From The Forum:

Four years ago, a national walking expert blasted Fargo and called it one of the least walkable of the nearly 1,600 communities he had visited across the country.

Dan Burden, executive director of the Florida-based Walkable Communities Inc., was especially critical of the southern sprawl area of the city during his visit here in 2004.

What could possibly make Fargo planners not base development on walking traffic?  I’ll give you a hint: it’ll be here in 2 months — and last at least 6 months.

Even where Fargo is walkable, basically downtown on Broadway, foot traffic grinds to a halt come November.

Does anyone out there find themselves, either by choice or by necessity, walking year-round in our fair city?

Better than you, it seems. From The Forum:

Larry Anthony Villella and Catherine Ann Sadler-Villella are both charged with Class A felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult and Class B felonies of forgery and misapplication of entrusted property charges. Villella is charged as a conspirator for the forgery and misapplication charges.

Villella, the home builder known for his “Hey, How you doin,” advertisements, owns Villella Custom Homes in Fargo.

A judge has sealed an affidavit of probable cause detailing the investigation leading to the charges.

The charges accuse Sadler-Villella of forging her father’s name to an unlimited commercial loan guaranty in Fargo for the benefit of Larry Villella, Incorporated. Villella is accused of conspiring with her to forge the man’s name, court documents state.

Larry Villella built several homes in my neighborhood and I think they show great design and construction elements, at least from the street curb. I have considered using Villella Custom for my next home, but now it looks like I may not have the chance.

Not to comment too much before a trial can take place or a verdict has been issued, but do the building trades attract a sort of less-than-honest bunch?  I’m certain there are good apples and bad apples in any profession, but I’ve personally had run ins with more bad than good.

For my first post here on OurFargo, I would like to tell you all why I love living in Fargo.  I have composed a list detailing nine reasons I love living in Fargo.

1.  Out of state people find out your from Fargo and say “I saw that movie.”

I am sure anyone who has traveled out of the tri-state area has heard that line.  The 1996 Coen brother movie is certainly a classic and a good conversation point, but probably the best part is showing people that we really don’t talk like that, ya know.

2.  The warm weather

Ok, we might not have warm weather 9 months out of the year, but I do appreciate our change of seasons.  Snow during Christmas is awesome, the melting of snow in spring where shorts are worn at 50 degrees and the great colors in fall.  I have grown to love the weather in Fargo, just don’t ask me about it on a day where it is below zero.

3.  The commute

North Dakotans have the shortest average commute time of all the states at 15.5 minutes, as detailed at americanprofile.com.  This may not mean a whole lot to folks who have never lived outside of ND, but I grew up watching my mother commute a few hours a day.  That is a lot of time away from home when added up.

4.  Cost of Living

It is cheap to live in Fargo in comparison to many places.  An MSN article in March 07 indicated that Fargo is one of the 10 best affordable places to live and work.

Tell someone from California that you bought a house for $160,000 and they will tell you that is absolutely crazy.  Sure, income might be more in CA, but not that much more.  Not to mention, where are the slums?  Are there any areas of Fargo where people are fearful of drive-by shootings and the like?  Not that I am aware of.

5.  Small Town Living with Big City Fun

We don’t have the Twins, we have the RedHawks.  We don’t have the Vikings, but we have NDSU Bison.  We don’t have the Target center, we have the FargoDome.  We have many of the amenities and benefits of large cities, just possibly on a smaller scale.  There is always something going on about town, whether it is the street fair, Rib Fest, Blues Fest, or whatever…. throughout the course of a year we have a large amount of activities available within city limits.

6.  Close to outdoor activities.

Fishing, hunting, camping, boating & bike trails.  These are activities that are all within a very short drive, if not within, of Fargo.

7.  Downtown

We have a very interesting downtown.  I used to work in the Radisson building, but we unfortunately moved.  It was really a great place to work.  Great restaurants like Bertrosas or a hotdog at MetroDrug.  People can also shop at cool little places like Zandbroz.

Downtown has a night life that is equally as interesting.  It has everything from the Hodo, where sipping martinis is welcomed, to the Bismarck, where bedrolls are not welcome.  Yes, there is actually a sign that says “No Bedrolls.”  I love it.

8.  Safe Place to live

According to www.cityrating.com, Fargo is .14 times the National Average for all violent crime.  It is .57 the national average for all property crimes.  Well below national averages, Fargo is a safe place to live.

9.  Most importantly… the people

I love living in Fargo because of the people.  I feel that we live in a community that will always come together in times of need, as evident during the flood of ‘97.  I think many of us have a great sense of community and live in a city where we try to help each other out.  Fargo is not perfect, but I certainly think the people of Fargo make it one of the greatest places to live.

From The Forum:

Residents are invited to hear Governor John Hoeven speak tonight at the annual Fargo-area United Republican Committee picnic.

The picnic, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Rheault Farms shelter in south Fargo, will also feature statewide and local legislative candidates.

The event offers free burgers and brats and is open to the public. The Rheault Farms shelter is located at 2902 25th St. S.

If you are able to attend, please be sure to leave your thoughts and a quick rundown in the comments section below.

OurFargo.com is a blog focused on the happenings in and around Fargo, ND. If you would like to become an author at OurFargo.com, please send an email with writing samples to admin -at- ourfargo -dot- com. All applications are welcomed!