Mandan, North Dakota

Vision Plan

This medium sized city, situated across the Missouri River from the capitol city of Bismarck, is undergoing changes as it matures from a bedroom community to a thriving local destination for shoppers and businesses, in addition to residents. Coming off the successful implementation of a downtown development plan, the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce – along with its partners, the city of Mandan, Morton County, the Mandan School District and the Mandan Parks Board – retained Market Street to help the community determine “where it wants to be” in the coming years both in terms of physical growth and economic progress.

The multi-part strategic process involved a great deal of public input as well as quantitative research into Mandan’s economic and demographic trends. Ultimately, the Strategic Vision Plan focused on what local residents, businesses and property owners felt are the city’s prime opportunities for advancement in all facets of local growth.

The Strategic Vision Plan identifies 4 major goals:
Goal 1: Empower citizens, stakeholders, and leaders to better improve the community.
Goal 2: Enhance image as a “family friendly” destination by developing a unique character and a strong quality of place.
Goal 3: Ensure sustainable growth and increasing wealth.
Goal 4: Invest in the existing and future labor force to ensure local businesses thrive and workers earn competitive wages.

Under each of these goals, the Strategic Vision Plan establishes specific objectives and action steps that emphasize key strategies for economic development success in Mandan. The Mandan Tomorrow Strategy is now underway using the Implementation Plan framework that Market Street prepared.

In August 2010, the City introduced a new website to go along with their new marketing materials, and hosted “Spirit of the West Grill Fest” a new, two-day, family friendly community event. Mandan has pursued and received federal grant money for education, has set up a non-profit Mandan Public Schools Foundation, and is working with local colleges and universities to create dual-credit classes for Mandan High School students.