RUGBY, N.D. — Rugby Mayor Frank LaRocque said he’s not surprised by the positive vibes felt by Kjersti Armstrong in Rugby more than a year ago, an experience referenced in North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s State of the State address.
People are friendly in the small town, LaRocque said, and employees of local businesses are the first people to show that.
“The frontline ambassadors for our city are our service industry workers,” he said. “Those on the tills at the convenience store, our wait staff at our local restaurants. When people come from out of town, those are the first people to interact with, normally, and it’s always nice when you have friendly people providing service for you.”
Armstrong referenced his wife’s visit to the northern North Dakota town (population 2,500) at the start of his address on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Kjersti Armstrong was headed to Winnipeg for a meeting, driving her husband’s car, which had his gun in it. Gov. Armstrong suggested she stop at Rugby’s Cenex while he called people to find someone to take the gun. He received a text message from her about 20 minutes later.
“‘I am moving to Rugby,’” Armstrong quoted from his wife’s text message. “‘It is the nicest place I have ever been. In the span of five minutes, five people have said good morning, two strangers said I was beautiful and my friend’s brother’s accountant took possession of my husband’s gun. This place is awesome.’”
LaRocque said an Armstrong representative also witnessed the city’s spirit with a visit last spring, when he visited with people around town and stopped at local businesses. The representative appreciated the positive attitude displayed by the people of Rugby. That attitude is needed for community growth, LaRocque said.
“I don’t buy into the premise that our best days are behind us,” he said. “You’ve got to stay positive, work toward growing our population, which is encouraging businesses to move to Rugby.”
The city has been trying to encourage young people to get involved in the direction of Rugby. An example is an ordinance that has allowed a high school representative to be appointed to the Rugby City Council. She participates in meetings and has full input and votes, though her vote is not recorded. Members of the Job Development Authority board are also younger, with an average age of around 33, LaRocque said, in comparison to Rugby’s average age of 58 to 62. The director, who is around 25, has recently been appointed to the board and is impressing community members, he said.
“He’s been invited to testify down in Bismarck this session on affordable housing,” he said. “He seems to be a pretty sharp young man.”
Otto is the region reporter for the Grand Forks Herald.
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