Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. Originally called Les Grandes Fourches by French fur traders, the city was founded on June 15, 1870, by steamboat captain Alexander Griggs and incorporated on February 22, 1881. Grand Forks is located on the western banks of the Red River of the North across from where the river meets the Red Lake River, in an extremely flat region known as the Red River Valley; the city is prone to flooding and was struck by the devastating Red River Flood of 1997. In July 2008, its population was estimated at 51,313, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 97,190. 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. Historically dependent on local agriculture, the city's economy now encompasses higher education including the University of North Dakota, defense including Grand Forks Air Force Base, health care, manufacturing, food processing, and scientific research.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Forks%2C_North_Dakota

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1667:

French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys administered the first fully documented human blood transfusion, giving the blood of a sheep to a 15-year old boy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blood_transfusion

1846:

To settle the Oregon boundary dispute, the United Kingdom and the United States signed the Oregon Treaty, extending the United States – British North America border west along the 49th parallel north that was first established by the Treaty of 1818. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Treaty

1978:

King Hussein of Jordan married American Lisa Halaby , who became known as Queen Noor of Jordan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Noor_of_Jordan

1996:

The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb in the commercial centre of Manchester, England, injuring over 200 people and causing widespread damage to buildings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing

2001:

Leaders of the People's Republic of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organisation

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hollow leg (n): 1. Capacity to eat large quantities. 2. Ability or tendency to drink large quantities of alcohol http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hollow_leg

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The world belongs to the enthusiast who keeps cool. --William McFee http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_McFee