Yesterday, I had the honor of a tour of the Town of Oakport by its former chairman, Greg Anderson. I’d been up there to attend a graduation party or two, or drop off my daughter at a friend’s house, but hadn’t gotten the benefit of someone’s wisdom who knew the people, the area and its history before. It’s a diverse and spectacular community.

Almost 25 years ago, the township of Oakport, the city of Moorhead and the state of Minnesota agreed to an annexation of Tract 2 of Oakport into Moorhead. Tract 1 has already been annexed and includes MB Johnson Park. Tract 2 is home to about 1,800 people, larger than Glyndon and Felton, combined. This uniquely rural and beautiful community will be a tremendous asset to Moorhead. The community is zoned as a Rural Residential District, which allows it to maintain its current charm.

The annexation doesn’t come without a number of questions, however. For that reason, we’ve started a publication; “Oakport Annexation Insights” that will help address some of those questions. On March 27th, we’ll have the first event to be able to talk more one-on-one with the community. In addition, information is available at www.cityofmoorhead/oakport. It’ll be a process, that I hope will be open and transparent, and celebrates Oakport’s history and future.