North Dakota is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. North Dakota is part of the Great Plains region, characterized by broad prairies, steppe, temperate savanna, badlands, and farmland. It is believed to host the geographic center of North America, Rugby, and is home to the tallest artificial structure in the Western Hemisphere, the KVLY-TV mast.
South Dakota is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux Native American tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and have historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the 17th largest by area, but the 5th least populous, and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 192,200, is South Dakota's most populous city.
Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan population was 133,626. In 2020, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.
Fargo is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in the United States. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, and the adjacent cities of West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the core of the Fargo–Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The MSA had a population of 248,591 in 2020.
Grand Forks is the 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, forms the center of the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is often called Greater Grand Forks or the Grand Cities.
The North Country National Scenic Trail, generally known as the North Country Trail or simply the NCT, is a footpath stretching over 4,800 miles (7,700 km) from Middlebury in central Vermont to Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota in the United States; connecting both the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail with the Lewis and Clark Trail. Passing through the eight states of Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, it is the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress. As of early 2019, 3,129 miles (5,036 km) of the trail is in place.
The governor of North Dakota is the head of state and head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.
North Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as the state's land-grant university. As of 2021, NDSU offers 94 undergraduate majors, 146 undergraduate degree programs, 5 undergraduate certificate programs, 84 undergraduate minors, 87 master's degree programs, 51 doctoral degree programs of study, and 210 graduate certificate programs. It is classified among "R1-Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".
The University of North Dakota is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota.
The North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the national Democratic Party. It was formed as the outcome of a merger of two parties; the state previously had a three-party political system. It is one of only two state Democratic Party affiliates to have a different name from the central party, the other being the neighboring Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. The party controls no North Dakota federal or statewide elected offices as of 2023.
The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party.
The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate.
The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives.
There are 461 properties and historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota. There are listings in 52 of North Dakota's 53 counties.
The Dakota are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Western Dakota.
Douglas James Burgum is an American entrepreneur and politician serving as the 33rd governor of North Dakota since 2016. A member of the Republican Party, Burgum was an angel investor in and the president of Great Plains Software and is a candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election.
The 2022 United States Senate election in North Dakota was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of North Dakota. Incumbent Republican John Hoeven was first elected in 2010 with 76% of the vote to succeed retiring Democratic–NPL incumbent Byron Dorgan, and won re-election in 2016 with 78.5% of the vote. He ran for a re-election to a third term in office against Democratic-NPL nominee Katrina Christiansen.
The COVID-19 pandemic in North Dakota is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state reported its first case on March 11, 2020.