East Grand Forks: The Minnesota Twin Across the River
Near Grand Forks, Minnesota
Cross the Red River and you cross a state line that has always been more symbol than barrier. East Grand Forks, Minnesota, sits directly across the water from Grand Forks, North Dakota, and the two cities have functioned as a single community since the eighteen eighties, sharing a common downtown economy and daily commuter flows. Minnesota's side was historically the wet option during Prohibition years and various periods of North Dakota blue laws, making its bars and restaurants a draw.
After the nineteen ninety-seven flood devastated both sides of the river equally, East Grand Forks rebuilt its riverfront into a restaurant and entertainment district oriented toward the water, while Grand Forks developed the Greenway park on its own bank. Today the two downtowns face each other across the river, connected by several bridges, their identities intertwined in the way that river-border twin cities always are.
