Founded in 1886 during the construction of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, Minot is also known as "Magic City", commemorating its remarkable growth in size over a short time.

[9]: 39 [10]: 129  The town site was chosen by the railroad to be placed on the land of homesteader Erik Ramstad, who was convinced to relinquish his claim and became one of the city leaders.

The town was named after Henry Minot, a Great Northern investor, ornithologist, and friend of Hill.

While initially their plan was to cross the Souris River at Burlington, local interests and arguments convinced them otherwise; landholders along the new route donated the right-of-way, and the Soo Line reached Minot in 1893.

[13] A passenger train, just three minutes away from crossing the bridge when it collapsed, was able to stop just in time to avoid disaster.

[13] On July 22, 1920, a tornado passed over Minot and bore down in a coulee three miles (5 km) southeast of town.

Nearly complete court records of Ward County and Minot document the prevalence and different types of criminal activity, and offer strong support for the epithet "crime capitol of North Dakota".

State attorney general William Langer helped clean up the town in 1917–1920, but by the time Prohibition arrived in the 1920s, Minot had become a center of illegal activities associated with the High Third district, exacerbated because the city was a supply hub of Al Capone's liquor smuggling operations.

The hotbed of alcohol bootlegging, prostitution, and opium dens that sprang up in the downtown area soon led people to nickname Minot "Little Chicago".

Smugglers used a network of tunnels (some previously built for heating or deliveries) to transport and conceal illicit cargo entering from Canada.

[16] Afterward, the Army Corps of Engineers straightened the river's path through the city and built several flood control structures.

On January 18, 2002, a severe train derailment west of the city sent a gigantic cloud of anhydrous ammonia toward Minot and Burlington.

One man died and many of Minot's citizens were sickened and severely injured by the gas, causing one of the worst major chemical accidents of the country.

[17] In early 2006, court cases were heard in Minneapolis, Minnesota, against Canadian Pacific Railway, the owner of the derailed train.

Important cities in the region for which Minot is the trading center include Burlington, Velva, Garrison, Stanley, Bottineau, Rugby, and New Town.

The city has several small horseshoe-shaped oxbow lakes within its limits near the river, created by the Mouse's meandering course.

Winters are typically bitterly cold and snowy, with high winds and below-freezing temperatures for weeks at a time.

[38] Minot has seen a significant increase in population and infrastructure investments in the last several years with the expanding drilling (using hydrofracking) of oil in the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Groups.

Nearly 40% of the city's residents are of Scandinavian ancestry, and every October since 1977, Minot has been the host to the Norsk Høstfest, North America's largest Scandinavian-American festival.

[56] The 2011 flood resulted in the relocation of Erik Ramstad Middle School and the closure of Lincoln Elementary, as both buildings were damaged beyond economical repair.

The three in Minot are grades 6–8: Jim Hill in the south,[57] Erik Ramstad in the north, and Central Middle School downtown.

MPS also operates an adult learning center and Souris River Campus, an alternative high school.

iHeartMedia owns and operates all the commercial stations licensed to Minot itself: KCJB 910, KRRZ 1390, KYYX 97.1, KIZZ 93.7, KMXA-FM 99.9, and KZPR 105.3.

It is a free publication published on Fridays by BHG, Inc. out of Garrison, North Dakota available on the MAFB, as well as the surrounding communities and many locations within Minot.

The Minot State University student newspaper Red & Green is published once a week (Thursdays) during the regular school year, but not during the summer months.

The railroads that built Minot remain, though Great Northern is now part of the BNSF Railway and the Soo Line is run by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

US 2 runs east–west and is a four-lane divided highway from Minot east to Grand Forks and beyond as well as west to Williston and into Montana.

Just north of the main gate at the base, the road reduces to two lanes and crosses the Canada–US border at Westhope, ND, where it becomes Manitoba Highway 83.

Minot International Airport is served by three airlines as well as charters and air taxi service around North Dakota.

The cities share many qualities, including their size, location on river valleys, historical origins, and air force bases.