title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: To obtain reliable and loyal soldiers, the Ptolemies developed several strategies that leveraged their ample financial resources and even Egypt's historical reputation for wealth; royal propaganda could be evidenced in a line by the poet Theocritus, "Ptolemy is the best paymaster a free man could have". Mercenaries were paid a salary ("misthos") of cash and grain rations; an infantryman in the third century BC earned about one silver drachma daily. This attracted recruits from across the eastern Mediterranean, who were sometimes referred to "misthophoroi xenoi" — literally "foreigners paid with a salary". By the second and first century BC, "misthophoroi" were mainly recruited within Egypt, notably among the Egyptian population. Soldiers were also given land grants called "kleroi", whose size varied according to the military rank and unit, as well as "stathmoi," or residences, which were sometimes in the home of local inhabitants; men who settled in Egypt through these grants were known as "cleruchs". At least from about 230 BC, these land grants were provided to "machimoi", lower ranking infantry usually of Egyptian origin, who received smaller lots comparable to traditional land allotments in Egypt. "Kleroi" grants could be extensive: a cavalryman could receive at least 70 "arouras" of land, equal to about 178,920 square metres, and as much as 100 arouras; infantrymen could expect 30 or 25 arouras and "machimoi" at least five auroras, considered enough for one family. The lucrative nature of military service under the Ptolemies appeared to have been effective at ensuring loyalty. Few mutinies and revolts are recorded, and even rebellious troops would be placated with land grants and other incentives.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: As in other Hellenistic states, the Ptolemaic army inherited the doctrines and organization of Macedonia, albeit with some variations over time. The core of the army consisted of cavalry and infantry; as under Alexander, cavalry played a larger role both numerically and tactically, while the Macedonian phalanx served as the primary infantry formation. The multiethnic nature of the Ptolemaic army was an official organizational principle: soldiers were evidently trained and utilized based on their national origin; Cretans generally served as archers, Libyans as heavy infantry, and Thracians as cavalry. Similarly, units were grouped and equipped based on ethnicity. Nevertheless, different nationalities were trained to fight together, and most officers were of Greek or Macedonian origin, which allowed for a degree of cohesion and coordination. Military leadership and the figure of the king and queen were central for ensuring unity and morale among multiethnic troops; at the battle of Raphai, the presence of Ptolemy was reportedly critical in maintaining and boosting the fighting spirit of both Greek and Egyptians soldiers.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The Ptolemaic Kingdom was considered a major naval power in the eastern Mediterranean. Some modern historians characterize Egypt during this period as a thalassocracy, owing to its innovation of "traditional styles of Mediterranean sea power", which allowed its rulers to "exert power and influence in unprecedented ways". With territories and vassals spread across the eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus, Crete, the Aegean islands, and Thrace, the Ptolemies required a large navy to defend against enemies like the Seleucids and Macedonians. The Ptolemaic navy also protected the kingdom's lucrative maritime trade and engaged in antipiracy measures, including along the Nile.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Like the army, the origins and traditions of the Ptolemaic navy were rooted in the wars following the death of Alexander in 320 BC. Various "diadochi" competed for naval supremacy over the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, and Ptolemy I founded the navy to help defend Egypt and consolidate his control against invading rivals. He and his immediate successors turned to developing the navy to project power overseas, rather than build a land empire in Greece or Asia. Notwithstanding an early crushing defeat at the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC, the Ptolemaic navy became the dominant maritime force in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean for the next several decades. Ptolemy II maintained his father's policy of making Egypt the preeminent naval power in the region; during his reign (283 to 246 BC), the Ptolemaic navy became the largest in the Hellenistic world and had some of the largest warships ever built in antiquity. The navy reached its height following the victory of Ptolemy II during the First Syrian War (274–271 BC), succeeding in repelling both Seleucid and Macedonian control of the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean. During the subsequent Chremonidean War, the Ptolemaic navy succeeded in blockading Macedonia and containing its imperial ambitions to mainland Greece.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Beginning with the Second Syrian War (260–253 BC), the navy suffered a series of defeats and declined in military importance, which coincided with the loss of Egypt's overseas possessions and the erosion of its maritime hegemony. The navy was relegated primarily to a protective and antipiracy role for the next two centuries, until its partial revival under Cleopatra VII, who sought to restore Ptolemaic naval supremacy amid the rise of Rome as a major Mediterranean power. Egyptian naval forces took part in the decisive battle of Actium during the final war of the Roman Republic, but once again suffered a defeat that culminated with the end of Ptolemaic rule.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: At its apex under Ptolemy II, the Ptolemaic navy may have had as many as 336 warships, with Ptolemy II reportedly having at his disposal more than 4,000 ships (including transports and allied vessels). Maintaining a fleet of this size would have been costly, and reflected the vast wealth and resources of the kingdom. The main naval bases were at Alexandria and Nea Paphos in Cyprus. The navy operated throughout the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean Sea, and Levantine Sea, and along the Nile, patrolling as far as the Red Sea towards the Indian Ocean. Accordingly, naval forces were divided into four fleets: the Alexandrian, Aegean, Red Sea, and Nile River.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: While ruling Egypt, the Ptolemaic Dynasty built many Greek settlements throughout their Empire, to either Hellenize new conquered peoples or reinforce the area. Egypt had only three main Greek cities—Alexandria, Naucratis, and Ptolemais.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Of the three Greek cities, Naucratis, although its commercial importance was reduced with the founding of Alexandria, continued in a quiet way its life as a Greek city-state. During the interval between the death of Alexander and Ptolemy's assumption of the style of king, it even issued an autonomous coinage. And the number of Greek men of letters during the Ptolemaic and Roman period, who were citizens of Naucratis, proves that in the sphere of Hellenic culture Naucratis held to its traditions. Ptolemy II bestowed his care upon Naucratis. He built a large structure of limestone, about long and wide, to fill up the broken entrance to the great Temenos; he strengthened the great block of chambers in the Temenos, and re-established them. At the time when Sir Flinders Petrie wrote the words just quoted the great Temenos was identified with the Hellenion. But Mr. Edgar has recently pointed out that the building connected with it was an Egyptian temple, not a Greek building. Naucratis, therefore, in spite of its general Hellenic character, had an Egyptian element. That the city flourished in Ptolemaic times "we may see by the quantity of imported amphorae, of which the handles stamped at Rhodes and elsewhere are found so abundantly." The Zeno papyri show that it was the chief port of call on the inland voyage from Memphis to Alexandria, as well as a stopping-place on the land-route from Pelusium to the capital. It was attached, in the administrative system, to the Saïte nome.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: A major Mediterranean port of Egypt, in ancient times and still today, Alexandria was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great. According to Plutarch, the Alexandrians believed that Alexander the Great's motivation to build the city was his wish to "found a large and populous Greek city that should bear his name." Located west of the Nile's westernmost mouth, the city was immune to the silt deposits that persistently choked harbors along the river. Alexandria became the capital of the Hellenized Egypt of King Ptolemy I (reigned 323–283 BC). Under the wealthy Ptolemaic Dynasty, the city soon surpassed Athens as the cultural center of the Hellenic world.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Laid out on a grid pattern, Alexandria occupied a stretch of land between the sea to the north and Lake Mareotis to the south; a man-made causeway, over three-quarters of a mile long, extended north to the sheltering island of Pharos, thus forming a double harbor, east and west. On the east was the main harbor, called the Great Harbor; it faced the city's chief buildings, including the royal palace and the famous Library and Museum. At the Great Harbor's mouth, on an outcropping of Pharos, stood the lighthouse, built c. 280 BC. Now vanished, the lighthouse was reckoned as one of the Seven Wonders of the World for its unsurpassed height (perhaps 140 metres or 460 ft); it was a square, fenestrated tower, topped with a metal fire basket and a statue of Zeus the Savior.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The Library, at that time the largest in the world, contained several hundred thousand volumes and housed and employed scholars and poets. A similar scholarly complex was the Museum (Mouseion, "hall of the Muses"). During Alexandria's brief literary golden period, c. 280–240 BC, the Library subsidized three poets—Callimachus, Apollonius of Rhodes, and Theocritus—whose work now represents the best of Hellenistic literature. Among other thinkers associated with the Library or other Alexandrian patronage were the mathematician Euclid (c. 300 BC), the inventor Archimedes (287 BC – c. 212 BC), and the polymath Eratosthenes (c. 225 BC).


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Cosmopolitan and flourishing, Alexandria possessed a varied population of Greeks, Egyptians and other Oriental peoples, including a sizable minority of Jews, who had their own city quarter. Periodic conflicts occurred between Jews and ethnic Greeks. According to


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Strabo, Alexandria had been inhabited during Polybius' lifetime by local Egyptians, foreign mercenaries and the tribe of the Alexandrians, whose origin and customs Polybius identified as Greek.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The city enjoyed a calm political history under the Ptolemies. It passed, with the rest of Egypt, into Roman hands in 30 BC, and became the second city of the Roman Empire.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The second Greek city founded after the conquest of Egypt was Ptolemais, up the Nile, where there was a native village called Psoï, in the nome called after the ancient Egyptian city of Thinis. If Alexandria perpetuated the name and cult of the great Alexander, Ptolemais was to perpetuate the name and cult of the founder of the Ptolemaic time. Framed in by the barren hills of the Nile Valley and the Egyptian sky, here a Greek city arose, with its public buildings and temples and theatre, no doubt exhibiting the regular architectural forms associated with Greek culture, with a citizen-body Greek in blood, and the institutions of a Greek city. If there is some doubt whether Alexandria possessed a council and assembly, there is none in regard to Ptolemais. It was more possible for the kings to allow a measure of self-government to a people removed at that distance from the ordinary residence of the court. We have still, inscribed on stone, decrees passed in the assembly of the people of Ptolemais, couched in the regular forms of Greek political tradition: It seemed good to the boule and to the demos: Hermas son of Doreon, of the deme Megisteus, was the proposer: Whereas the prytaneis who were colleagues with Dionysius the son of Musaeus in the 8th year, etc.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The Ptolemaic Kingdom was diverse and cosmopolitan. Beginning under Ptolemy I Soter, Macedonians and other Greeks were given land grants and allowed to settle with their families, encouraging tens of thousands of Greek mercenaries and soldiers to immigrate where they became a landed class of royal soldiers. Greeks soon became the dominant elite; native Egyptians, though always the majority, generally occupied lower posts in the Ptolemaic government. Over time, the Greeks in Egypt became somewhat homogenized and the cultural distinctions between immigrants from different regions of Greece became blurred.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Many Jews were imported from neighboring Judea by the thousands for being renowned fighters, also establishing an important community. Other foreign groups settled from across the ancient world, usually as "cleruchs" who had been granted land in exchange for military service.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Of the many foreign groups who had come to settle in Egypt, the Greeks were the most privileged. They were partly spread as allotment-holders over the country, forming social groups, in the country towns and villages, side by side with the native population, partly gathered in the three Greek cities, the old Naucratis, founded before 600 BC (in the interval of Egyptian independence after the expulsion of the Assyrians and before the coming of the Persians), and the two new cities, Alexandria by the sea, and Ptolemais in Upper Egypt. Alexander and his Seleucid successors founded many Greek cities all over their dominions.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Greek culture was so much bound up with the life of the city-state that any king who wanted to present himself to the world as a genuine champion of Hellenism had to do something in this direction, but the king of Egypt, ambitious to shine as a Hellene, would find Greek cities, with their republican tradition and aspirations to independence, inconvenient elements in a country that lent itself, as no other did, to bureaucratic centralization. The Ptolemies therefore limited the number of Greek city-states in Egypt to Alexandria, Ptolemais, and Naucratis.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: Outside of Egypt, the Ptolemies exercised control over Greek cities in Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and on the coasts and islands of the Aegean, but they were smaller than Greek "poleis" in Egypt. There were indeed country towns with names such as Ptolemais, Arsinoe, and Berenice, in which Greek communities existed with a certain social life and there were similar groups of Greeks in many of the old Egyptian towns, but they were not communities with the political forms of a city-state. Yet if they had no place of political assembly, they often had their own gymnasium, the essential sign of Hellenism, serving something of the purpose of a university for the young men. Far up the Nile at Ombi a gymnasium of the local Greeks was found in 136–135 BC, which passed resolutions and corresponded with the king. Also, in 123 BC, when there was trouble in Upper Egypt between the towns of Crocodilopolis and Hermonthis, the negotiators sent from Crocodilopolis were the young men attached to the gymnasium, who, according to the Greek tradition, ate bread and salt with the negotiators from the other town. All the Greek dialects of the Greek world gradually became assimilated in the Koine Greek dialect that was the common language of the Hellenistic world. Generally, the Greeks of Ptolemaic Egypt felt like representatives of a higher civilization but were curious about the native culture of Egypt.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The Jews who lived in Egypt had originally immigrated from the Southern Levant. Within a few generations the Jews spoke Greek, the dominant language of Egypt at the time, and not the Hebrew or Aramaic of the first immigrants. According to Jewish legend the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures, was written by seventy-two Jewish translators for Ptolemy II. That is confirmed by historian Flavius Josephus, who writes that Ptolemy, desirous to collect every book in the habitable earth, applied Demetrius Phalereus to the task of organizing an effort with the Jewish high priests to translate the Jewish books of the Law for his library. Josephus thus places the origins of the Septuagint in the 3rd century BC, when Demetrius and Ptolemy II lived. According to one Jewish legend, the seventy wrote their translations independently from memory, and the resultant works were identical at every letter. However, Josephus states they worked together arguing over the translation and finished the work in 72 days. Josephus goes into great detail on the elaborate preparations and regal treatment of the 70 elders of the tribes of Israel chosen to accomplish the task in his Antiquities of the Jews Book 12, chapter 2, which is dedicated to the description of this famous event.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: In 1990, more than 2,000 papyri written by Zeno of Caunus from the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus were discovered, which contained at least 19 references to Arabs in the area between the Nile and the Red Sea, and mentioned their jobs as police officers in charge of "ten person units", and some others were mentioned as shepherds. Arabs in Ptolemaic Egypt and Syria raided and attacked both sides of the conflict between the Ptolemaic Kingdom and its enemies.


title: Ptolemaic Kingdom

text: The early Ptolemies increased cultivatable land through irrigation and land reclamation. The Ptolemies drained the marshes of the Faiyum to create a new province of cultivatable land. They also introduced crops such as durum wheat and intensified the production of goods such as wool. Wine production increased dramatically during the Ptolemaic period, as the new Greek ruling class greatly preferred wine to the beer traditionally produced in Egypt. Vines from regions like Crete were planted in Egypt in an attempt to produce Greek wines.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Pierre Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver, currently competing in Formula One under the French flag, racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is the 2016 GP2 Series champion, and the runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series and the 2017 Super Formula Championship. He made his Formula One debut with Toro Rosso at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. He moved to Red Bull Racing in 2019, before moving back after trading with Alexander Albon from Toro Rosso between the Hungarian and Belgian rounds to partner Daniil Kvyat. Gasly took his maiden Formula One victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix while driving for AlphaTauri. Gasly has moved to Alpine for the 2023 season, driving for the French team in the 2022 post-season test in Abu Dhabi.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly was born in Rouen, France, to father Jean Jacques Gasly and mother Pascale. Gasly is the youngest of five and has four half brothers: two maternal from his mother's previous marriage, Nicolas Caron and Cyril Caron; and two paternal from his father's previous marriage, Phillipe Gasly and Paul Gasly.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly's family has long been involved in motorsports. His grandfather competed in karting, his grandmother a kart champion, and his father Jean Jacques has also competed in various categories of racing including karting, endurance racing and rallying. His father stopped rallying when he 'fell off [a] mountain' after his co-driver made a mistake reading the pace note. At the age of six, Gasly first experienced karting at a local karting track in Anneville-Ambourville. He was 13 years old when he left Rouen for Le Mans after his commitment for competitive racing.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly grew up alongside Anthoine Hubert; karting with him since the age of seven, being educated at the same private school and having resided together as roommates for several years. He was also friends with Charles Leclerc since a young age and Esteban Ocon during the early stages of his karting career. In 2019 he moved to Milan. Besides his native French, Gasly also speaks Italian and English.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly entered competitive karting in 2006 at the age of ten, when he finished fifteenth in the French Minime Championship, before he finished fourth the following year. In 2008 he stepped up to the French Cadet Championship, before moving to the international scene in 2009. He moved into the KF3 category, staying until the end of 2010, when he finished as runner-up in the CIK-FIA European Championship.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: In 2011, Gasly made his début in single-seaters, taking part in the French F4 Championship 1.6-litre category. He finished third behind his future Eurocup rivals Matthieu Vaxivière and Andrea Pizzitola with seven podiums, including wins at Spa, Albi and Le Castellet.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly moved to the 2-litre Formula Renault machinery in 2012, joining R-Ace GP in the Formula Renault Eurocup. He finished tenth with six point-scoring finishes, including podiums at Spa and the Nürburgring. He also had seven starts in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup with the same team, taking a podium at the Nürburgring.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: For 2013, Gasly moved to Tech 1 Racing. He took five podiums, as well as victories at Moscow, the Hungaroring and Le Castellet. He held an eleven-point lead over Oliver Rowland into the final meeting at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and ultimately clinched the title with third and sixth-place finishes; the latter result coming after a collision with Rowland, who received a drive-through penalty as a result.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: The driver jumped to Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2014, where he was hired by Arden under the Red Bull Junior Team development program. He finished the season as runner-up to another Red Bull Junior Carlos Sainz Jr., collecting eight podiums in the seventeen races.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly made his GP2 Series debut in 2014 at Monza circuit in support of Italian Grand Prix, replacing Caterham Racing driver Tom Dillmann who had commitments at other racing series and was unable to participate in GP2 Series races for that weekend. He then partook in post-season testing, driving for DAMS and signed with the French team to race alongside the British driver Alex Lynn, development driver of Williams F1 Team. Though taking three pole positions and four podiums, Gasly experienced an uneven season, including causing collisions in Bahrain, Spa and Yas Marina (which got the subsequent race cancelled), which saw him finish eighth, two places behind teammate Lynn.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly would switch to newcomers Prema Powerteam alongside 2015 European Formula 3 runner-up and GP2 rookie Antonio Giovinazzi for 2016. He would go on to become the GP2 Series champion that season.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly joined Team Mugen to drive a Red Bull-sponsored Honda at the 2017 Super Formula Championship, winning two races, and almost winning the championship by half a point.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly made a one-off Formula E appearance for Renault where he replaced Sébastien Buemi for the 2017 New York ePrix, due to the latter's commitments to the World Endurance Championship. In the weekend's first race, Gasly recovered from the poor qualifying performance of 19th to finish seventh in his debut race. Gasly nearly finished on the podium in the second race, hitting the wall on the exit of the final corner while battling for third and limping across the finish line with major damage in fourth.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: In December 2013 it was announced that Gasly would be inducted into the Red Bull Junior Team for the 2014 Formula One season alongside future GP2 Series teammate Alex Lynn and future Scuderia Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. Gasly's first experience in Formula One machinery came in May 2015 at the in-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He drove the Toro Rosso STR10 on the first day of the test and the Red Bull RB11 on the second day, recording 203 laps in total. He later tested the RB11 again at the Red Bull Ring in June and was officially named Red Bull Racing's reserve driver in September. Gasly continued testing for Red Bull and Toro Rosso during the and seasons.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly made his Formula One race debut at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix with Toro Rosso, replacing Daniil Kvyat. He finished the Malaysian and Japanese Grands Prix outside the points. Gasly was expected to take Carlos Sainz Jr.'s seat at the after Sainz left for Renault, but he was forced to miss the race due to a clash with the final round of the 2017 Super Formula Championship. He returned to the team for the , partnering with Brendon Hartley after the team decided to drop Kvyat from the Red Bull programme.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly and Hartley became full-time Toro Rosso drivers for the season. At the , Gasly qualified sixth but was promoted to fifth on the grid after a penalty for Lewis Hamilton. He finished the race in fourth place after Kimi Räikkönen retired, earning his first points finish in Formula One. A week later at the , he crashed into teammate Hartley in what the two confessed as being a 'miscommunication'. Gasly recorded four more points finishes during the season, including seventh place at the and sixth place at the . He ended the season in fifteenth place in the championship with 29 points, comfortably ahead of Hartley's total of four points.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly was contracted to drive for Red Bull Racing for the season, partnering Max Verstappen following the departure of Daniel Ricciardo to Renault. Gasly qualified seventeenth at his first race with the team, the and failed to score in the race. He again failed to qualify in the top ten at the following , and retired from sixth place with a driveshaft issue at the . He scored points at the following six races but finished a lap behind the leaders at the Canadian, French and Austrian Grands Prix, the latter of which was won by Verstappen. His best result with Red Bull Racing came at the where he finished fourth after Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel collided ahead. At the , Gasly retired after colliding with Alex Albon's Toro Rosso in an attempt to overtake for sixth place.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly came under increasing pressure at the , where he finished sixth having been lapped by Verstappen. Despite Gasly's poor results, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko stated that the team intended to keep Gasly until the end of the season. At this stage of the season, Gasly was sixth in the drivers' championship with 63 points. Verstappen, meanwhile, had recorded 181 points, two race wins, five podium finishes, and one pole position.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Ahead of the , Gasly was demoted back to junior team Toro Rosso with Alex Albon taking his place at Red Bull. Red Bull stated that the swap was made in order to "make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max [Verstappen] in 2020", with Horner remarking that "we desperately need [Gasly] realising more of the potential of the car."


title: Pierre Gasly

text: During the remainder of the season at Toro Rosso, partnering with Daniil Kvyat, Gasly achieved five points finishes, including ninth place at his first race back at the team at the . His best result came at the , where he qualified in seventh place and took advantage of retirements from Valtteri Bottas and both Ferrari drivers, as well as a collision between Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon, to finish the race in second place after holding off Hamilton in a straight drag to the finish line. This marked the first podium finish of Gasly's Formula One career, Toro Rosso's best race result since the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, and Honda's first 1–2 finish since the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix. On his cool-down lap, Gasly remarked over the radio: "This is the best day of my life". He ended the season seventh in the drivers' championship with 95 points.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly was retained by the team, along with Kvyat, as they rebranded to Scuderia AlphaTauri. Gasly achieved four points finishes in the first seven races of the season, with best results of seventh place at the Austrian and British Grands Prix.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: At the , an early pit stop allowed Gasly to pass several drivers - who had to wait for the pitlane to open during a safety car procedure - promoting him to third place. As race leader Hamilton entered the pits to serve a penalty and second-placed driver Lance Stroll lost places at the restart, Gasly inherited the lead of the race and held off the late-charging Carlos Sainz Jr. to take his first win in Formula One, becoming the 109th different race winner and the first French driver to win a Grand Prix since Olivier Panis' victory at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, 24 years prior. This prompted speculation that Gasly could return to Red Bull, as his replacement, Alex Albon, finished only fifteenth. Gasly remarked that he was 'ready' to do so. AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost praised Gasly's race but dismissed the possibility of Gasly returning to Red Bull in the near future.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly was eliminated in a first-lap collision at the following race, the . He scored points at the next three races, including fifth place at the , but retired with a coolant leak at the having qualified a season-best fourth. He finished the 2020 season tenth in the drivers' championship with 75 points, ahead of teammate Kvyat's 32 points.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly was retained by AlphaTauri for , partnered by Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda. He qualified fifth for the season-opening but collided with Daniel Ricciardo and later retired from the race. He then scored points at the following six races, including his third career podium at the . He qualified fourth, dropped to fifth early in the race, but benefited from a tyre failure for Max Verstappen and a mistake from Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages and prevailed in a battle with Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap to finish third. Gasly's points streak ended at the when he was eliminated by a first-lap collision with Leclerc. A late-race puncture at the dropped Gasly out of the points positions.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: At the , Gasly crashed out in sprint qualifying after he made contact with Daniel Ricciardo, wedging his front wing underneath his wheels. He retired from the race on lap four due to damaged suspension. He finished sixth at the despite a penalty for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso. Gasly started on the front row for the first time at the but finished the race outside the points. Gasly finished the season ninth in the drivers' standings with 110 of AlphaTauri's 142 points, his highest ever points tally in a single season.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly continued to race for AlphaTauri in alongside Tsunoda. An engine fire caused his retirement from the season-opening . He scored points at the Saudi Arabian and Australian Grands Prix, but failed to do so at the following four races, which included retirement from a collision with Lando Norris at the . He ended the zero-point streak by finishing fifth at the . Five more races without points followed, including a collision with teammate Tsunoda that ended his race at the . Gasly qualified tenth at the but collided with Lewis Hamilton in the sprint and Sebastian Vettel in the race, finishing fifteenth.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: He was set to start the from eighth place, however an electrical issue shortly before the race forced him to start from the pit lane. He recovered to the points positions, finishing ninth. More points came at the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix, in both of which he qualified and finished in the top ten. At the , Gasly criticised the deployment of a recovery tractor in wet conditions to extract Carlos Sainz Jr.'s crashed car, describing it as "disrespectful" to the memory of the late Jules Bianchi and stating "I could have killed myself". He received a penalty for speeding under the subsequent red flag and was demoted to eighteenth place.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost confirmed that Gasly had a contract with the team and would remain with them for . In the months of August and September, information emerged that Alpine were targeting Gasly after Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri both left the team, and that Red Bull were willing to release him. Gasly's move to Alpine for 2023 was officially announced in October.


title: Pierre Gasly

text: Gasly signed a multi-year contract to race for Alpine in 2023, partnering fellow French former karting rival Esteban Ocon. AlphaTauri allowed Gasly to join Alpine for the post-season testing immediately after the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.


title: Creed II

text: Creed II is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. The sequel to "Creed" (2015) and the eighth installment in the "Rocky" franchise, the film stars Michael B. Jordan, Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, and Dolph Lundgren. In the film, under the continued tutelage of Rocky Balboa (Stallone), Donnie Creed (Jordan) faces off against Viktor Drago (Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Lundgren).


title: Creed II

text: A "Creed" sequel was confirmed in January 2016, but was delayed as Ryan Coogler, the director of the predecessor, and Jordan faced scheduling conflicts due to their involvement in "Black Panther" (2018); Coogler was originally replaced by Stallone, who completed the screenplay by July 2017, but he was replaced by Caple that December, with Coogler instead serving as an executive producer on "Creed II". The rest of the cast, including the returns of Thompson, Rashad, and Lundgren, was finalized by March 2018, and principal photography began that same month and lasted until that June, with filming primarily taking place on location in Philadelphia.


title: Creed II

text: "Creed II" premiered on November 14, 2018, at the Lincoln Center in New York City and was theatrically released in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer through their distribution joint venture with Annapurna Pictures (which was later rebranded as United Artists Releasing) and internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 21. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Stallone, Jordan, and Lundgren), character development, and Caple's direction, while noting its predictability. It was also a commercial success, grossing $214 million worldwide.


title: Creed II

text: The sequel, "Creed III", directed by Jordan in his directorial debut, is scheduled to be released March 3, 2023.


title: Creed II

text: In 2018, three years after his loss to "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, Adonis "Donnie" Creed, with his trainer Rocky Balboa by his side, has won six straight bouts, culminating in a victory over Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler to win the WBC World Heavyweight Championship, as well as win back his 1967 Ford Mustang that he lost to Wheeler in a bet prior. Now a worldwide star, Donnie proposes to his girlfriend, Bianca Taylor, who agrees to marry him. Bianca suggests starting a new life together in Los Angeles, but Donnie is reluctant to leave Philadelphia, and by extension, Rocky.


title: Creed II

text: In Ukraine, Ivan Drago, the former Soviet boxer who killed Donnie's father Apollo Creed during a bout in 1985, has been living destitute since losing to Rocky that same year, and seeks an opportunity to regain glory. Assisted by promoter Buddy Marcelle, Ivan pits his son, Viktor, against Donnie. When Rocky refuses to support Donnie's acceptance of Viktor's challenge, Donnie leaves for Los Angeles.


title: Creed II

text: Donnie and Bianca settle down in a luxurious apartment in Los Angeles close to Donnie's adoptive mother and Apollo's widow, Mary Anne. As they adjust to their new life and prepare for the upcoming match, Bianca learns that she is pregnant. Donnie recruits Tony "Little Duke" Evers, son of his father's trainer and later Rocky's trainer, to start training him. Overwhelmed by his life's recent developments, the underprepared Donnie rushes into the match and is badly injured. Viktor is disqualified for hitting Donnie while he is down, allowing Donnie to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite his loss, Viktor becomes extremely popular in Russia and wins a series of fights with top billing.


title: Creed II

text: His body and ego shattered, Donnie becomes increasingly disconnected from Bianca. Mary Anne reaches out to Rocky, who reconciles with Donnie and agrees to train him for a rematch against Viktor, who is suffering torturous physical tests at Ivan's hands. Bianca gives birth to a daughter, Amara, and Rocky is named her godfather; however, Amara is born deaf, inheriting it from her mother's progressive hearing disorder.


title: Creed II

text: While Viktor taunts Donnie publicly, he faces constant pressure from his father behind the scenes, who enjoys the attentions of the media and various Russian delegates. At a state dinner, he and Ivan encounter Ludmilla, his mother and Ivan's ex-wife, for the first time in several years after she abandoned them following Ivan's loss to Rocky. Enraged at the sight of her, Viktor storms out of the dinner and chastises Ivan for seeking approval from those who cast them out. Meanwhile, Rocky and Little Duke retrain Donnie in a decrepit location in the California desert, focusing on fighting from within and training Donnie's body to absorb the heavy impact he will receive from Viktor in the ring.


title: Creed II

text: In Moscow, the rematch is more balanced as a more controlled and focused Donnie exchanges equal blows with Viktor. Viktor is used to winning by knockout as his bouts have never lasted past four rounds; Donnie uses this to his advantage and willingly endures a heavy beating from Viktor, even after his ribs are broken. In the tenth round, Donnie unleashes sequence after sequence of effective blows and knocks Viktor down twice. Ludmilla departs after the second knockdown, upsetting Viktor, and Ivan sees the truth of his son's earlier words. An exhausted Viktor is cornered and receives multiple strikes without defending himself, but is unwilling to go down. Realizing that his son's safety means more to him than acceptance from Russia's elite, Ivan throws in the towel, forfeiting the fight to protect his son. He assures the distraught Viktor it is okay that he lost, and embraces him. As Bianca enters the ring to celebrate with Donnie and Little Duke, Rocky recuses himself and takes a seat to watch them from outside the ring.


title: Creed II

text: Following the match, Viktor and Ivan later train together back in Ukraine. Rocky travels to Vancouver to make peace with his own estranged son, Robert Jr., and meets his grandson Logan for the first time. Donnie and Bianca visit Apollo's grave, where Donnie makes peace with his deceased father and the burden of carrying on his legacy, as he and Bianca introduce Amara, who now has a new set of hearing aids.


title: Creed II

text: In addition, Robbie Johns appears briefly as Logan Balboa, Robert's son and Rocky's grandson. Archive footage of Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed is used throughout the film, with the actor's likeness also appearing through the use of photographs and murals.


title: Creed II

text: On January 5, 2016, Sylvester Stallone and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures CEO Gary Barber confirmed to "Variety" that a sequel to "Creed" was in development. The same month, Stallone posed the possibility of seeing Milo Ventimiglia appear in the sequel, reprising his role as Rocky's son Robert Balboa from "Rocky Balboa". Ventimiglia previously revealed during the development of "Creed" that he was open to returning to the franchise, stating, "I'll tell you what, if they invited me, I'd love to be there. If they didn't, I wouldn't be offended." It was revealed in April 2018 that Ventimiglia would have an appearance in the film. On January 11, 2016, Barber revealed that Ryan Coogler would not be returning due to scheduling conflicts, because he was attached to "Black Panther", though he would return as executive producer. Michael B. Jordan's schedule ended up being delayed due to "Black Panther", as he was starring in that film. In July 2017, Stallone confirmed that he had completed the script for the sequel, and also revealed that Ivan Drago would be featured in the film. In October 2017, it was announced that Stallone would direct and produce the film. However, in December 2017, it was reported that Steven Caple Jr. would instead direct the film with Tessa Thompson confirmed to reprise her role of Bianca, Creed's love interest. In January 2018, Romanian amateur boxer Florian Munteanu was cast in the film to play Drago's son with Dolph Lundgren set to reprise his role of Drago. In March 2018, Russell Hornsby joined the cast while Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris, and Andre Ward were confirmed to reprise their roles from the prior film.


title: Creed II

text: Vince DiCola, composer of "Rocky IV", was originally rumored to return to score the film, but stated in a Facebook post: "I would have loved to return, however that's just how Hollywood works. We don't always get what we want."


title: Creed II

text: Principal photography began March 2018. Filming occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's Port Richmond neighborhood, and was completed on June 7, 2018. Some scenes were filmed at the Grey Towers Castle at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The Hospital scenes were filmed at Temple University Hospital's Boyer Pavillion at Broad and Tioga Streets.


title: Creed II

text: The visual effects were provided by Zero VFX and Mr. X and Supervised by Eric Robinson, Dan Cayer and Crystal Dowd with the help of Crafty Apes.


title: Creed II

text: "Creed II" was released in the United States on November 21, 2018. It premiered on November 14, 2018, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.


title: Creed II

text: On December 21, 2018, it was announced the film would receive a January 4, 2019 release in China, the first "Rocky" film to ever receive a theatrical release in the country.


title: Creed II

text: "Creed II" grossed $115.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $98.4 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $214.1 million, against a production budget of $50 million.


title: Creed II

text: In the United States and Canada, "Creed II" was released alongside "Ralph Breaks the Internet" and "Robin Hood", as well as the wide expansion of "Green Book", and was projected to gross $44–54 million from 3,350 theaters in its five-day opening weekend. The film made $11.6 million on its first day, including $3.7 million from Tuesday night previews (the second best pre-Thanksgiving total ever behind fellow release "Ralph Breaks the Internet"s $3.8 million and marking a 64% improvement over the first film's $1.4 million preview total). It went on to debut to $35.3 million in its opening weekend (a five-day total of $55.8 million), finishing second at the box office and marking the best Thanksgiving opening for a live-action film, besting "Enchanted" ($49.1 million) and "Four Christmases" ($46.1 million). In its second and third weekends the film made $16.8 million and $10 million, finishing in third both times. Over the five-day Christmas frame (its fifth week of release), the film passed the $109.7 million domestic total made by the first film.


title: Creed II

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Creed II"s adherence to franchise formula adds up to a sequel with few true surprises, but its time-tested generational themes still pack a solid punch." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on reviews from 45 critics, indicating " favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by its predecessor, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 87% positive score and an 89% "definite recommend".


title: Creed II

text: Odie Henderson of "RogerEbert.com" gave the film three out of four stars, stating that ""Creed II" falls victim to the sins of sequelitis—it's bigger, louder and more grandiose than its predecessor—yet manages to right itself by not losing focus on the humanity of its central characters." Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" called the film "rousing and effective" and wrote ""Creed II" has been made with heart and skill, and Jordan invests each moment with such fierce conviction that he makes it all seem like it matters. Even if it all mattered a notable notch more in "Creed"." Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "B", praising Stallone's performance and saying: "Kramer Morgenthau's cinematography lacks the showy steadicam acrobatics of "Creed", but the climactic battle between Adonis and Viktor still delivers a dazzling light show that dovetails right into the visceral mayhem of the battle, captured from so many angles some viewers may reel from the punches themselves."


title: Creed II

text: In response to the suggestion that Deontay Wilder could play the son of Clubber Lang in a potential "Creed III", both Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan expressed interest in such a character being featured in the plot of the next installment. In February 2020, Zach Baylin was announced as the sequel's writer. In October 2020, it was reported that, in addition to reprising his role of Adonis Creed, Michael B. Jordan would also direct "Creed III", serving as his directorial debut. Jordan was confirmed as the director of "Creed III" in March 2021, with a targeted release date of March 3, 2023, while Stallone confirmed in April that he would not appear as Rocky Balboa.


title: Creed II

text: As of July 2019, the "Rocky" franchise as a whole was announced to continue with another mentor-student film à la "Creed", set post-"Creed II" in which Rocky Balboa would befriend a young fighter who is also an undocumented immigrant. Stallone stated: "Rocky meets a young, angry person who got stuck in this country when he comes to see his sister. He takes him into his life, and unbelievable adventures begin, and they wind up south of the border. It's very, very timely." In addition he announced the development of a "Rocky" prequel television series.


title: Justin Roiland

text: Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty" and its subsequent franchise. He voices the show's titular characters Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith. Roiland is the co-creator of Hulu's "Solar Opposites", in which he voices the main character, Korvo. He has also played Earl of Lemongrab on "Adventure Time," Blendin Blandin on "Gravity Falls", and Oscar on "Fish Hooks". He founded the animation studio Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions! and the video game studio Squanch Games.


title: Justin Roiland

text: Roiland was born and raised in Stockton, California to Jewish parents. He attended Sierra High School up until the first quarter of his senior year and then transferred to Manteca High School for the remainder of his senior year, graduating in 1998. After high school he attended Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California. Roiland is dyslexic.


title: Justin Roiland

text: He got involved with Channel101, an L.A. media collective started by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab, where he made and acted in numerous movie shorts (such as "2 Girls One Cup: The Show", "House of Cosbys" and a small role as musician Christopher Cross in the series "Yacht Rock") and in the VH1 television show "Acceptable TV". He appeared regularly on "The Sarah Silverman Program" on Comedy Central as "Blonde Craig". From 2010 to 2016, he co-hosted The Grandma's Virginity Podcast with future "Rick and Morty" writer, Ryan Ridley, and future "Steven Universe" producer, Jackie Buscarino.


title: Justin Roiland

text: In 2012, Adult Swim approached Harmon to produce a new animated series for their network. Harmon approached Roiland and together, they created "Rick and Morty" which debuted in 2013 to widespread acclaim. The show quickly grew a fan community as audiences praised the show for its unique story telling and incorporation of science-fiction elements. Roiland voices Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty Smith. In addition to the voice work, Roiland serves as a co-writer and executive producer alongside Dan Harmon. By the end of season 1, "Rick and Morty" became one of the most successful shows Adult Swim ever produced.


title: Justin Roiland

text: The success of Rick and Morty spearheaded an entire franchise around it. Various Rick and Morty themed merchandise have been produced and sold. In addition to the show, Rick and Morty maintains an app called "Pocket Mortys". On August 25, 2016, Roiland launched virtual reality studio Squanchtendo, a portmanteau of the company Nintendo and "Rick and Morty" character Squanchy. It was later renamed to Squanch Games. Its first full-length title, "Accounting+", made in collaboration with William Pugh's studio, was released for PSVR on December 19, 2017.


title: Justin Roiland

text: In January 2021, Roiland offered over a dozen artworks in his first NFT art collection, titled "The Best I Could Do". His highest-selling piece was by his Simpsons homage "The Smintons", sold at $290,100. The collection sold for a total of $1.65 million. Roiland also sold his first painting, titled "mypeoplefriend", via auction by Sotheby's in July 2021.


title: Justin Roiland

text: On Halloween 2022, Roiland released a generative NFT project named "Art Gobblers" with Paradigm Ventures.


title: Justin Roiland

text: In August 2016, Roiland set up a video game studio, Squanchtendo, which was later renamed to Squanch Games in December 2017.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. It is believed to host the geographic center of North America, Rugby, and is home to the tallest man-made structure in the Western Hemisphere, the KVLY-TV mast.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is the 19th largest state, but with a population of less than 780,000 as of 2020, it is the 4th least populous and 4th most sparsely populated. The capital is Bismarck while the largest city is Fargo, which accounts for nearly a fifth of the state's population; both cities are among the fastest-growing in the U.S., although half of all residents live in rural areas. The state is part of the Great Plains region, with broad prairies, steppe, temperate savanna, badlands, and farmland being defining characteristics.


title: North Dakota

text: What is now North Dakota was inhabited for thousands of years by various Native American tribes, including the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara along the Missouri River; the Ojibwa and Cree in the northeast; and several Sioux groups (the Assiniboine, Yankton, Wahpeton, and Teton) across the rest of the state. European explorers and traders first arrived in the early 18th century, mostly in pursuit of lucrative furs. The United States acquired the region in the early 19th century, gradually settling it amid growing resistance by increasingly displaced natives.


title: North Dakota

text: The Dakota Territory, established in 1861, became central to American pioneers, with the Homestead Act of 1862 precipitating significant population growth and development. The traditional fur trade declined in favor of farming, particularly of wheat; the subsequent Dakota Boom from 1878 to 1886 saw giant farms stretched across the rolling prairies, with the territory becoming a key breadbasket and regional economic engine. The Northern Pacific and Great Northern railway companies competed for access to lucrative grain centers; farmers banded together in political and socioeconomic alliances that were core to the broader Populist Movement of the Midwest.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, along with neighboring South Dakota, as the 39th and 40th states. President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first; consequently, the two states are officially numbered in alphabetical order. Statehood marked the gradual winding down of the pioneer period, with the state fully settled by around 1920. Subsequent decades saw a rise in radical agrarian movements and economic cooperatives, of which one legacy is the Bank of North Dakota, the only state-run bank in the U.S.


title: North Dakota

text: Beginning in the mid 20th century, North Dakota's rich natural resources became more critical to economic development; into the 21st century, oil extraction from the Bakken formation in the northwest has played a major role in the state's prosperity. Such development has led to unprecedented population growth (along with high birth rates) and reduced unemployment, with North Dakota having the second lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. (after Hawaii). It ranks relatively well in metrics such as infrastructure, quality of life, economic opportunity, and public safety.


title: North Dakota

text: Native American people lived in what is now North Dakota for thousands of years before the coming of Europeans. The known tribes included the Mandan people (from around the 11th century), while the first Hidatsa group arrived a few hundred years later. They both assembled in villages on tributaries of the Missouri River in what would become west-central North Dakota. Crow Indians traveled the plains from the west to visit and trade with the related Hidatsas after the split between them, probably in the 17th century.


title: North Dakota

text: Later came divisions of the Dakota people: the Lakota, the Santee and the Yanktonai. The Assiniboine and the Plains Cree undertook southward journeys to the village Indians, either for trade or for war. The Shoshone Indians in present-day Wyoming and Montana may have carried out attacks on Indian enemies as far east as the Missouri. A group of Cheyennes lived in a village of earth lodges at the lower Sheyenne River (Biesterfeldt Site) for decades in the 18th century.


title: North Dakota

text: Due to attacks by Crees, Assiniboines and Chippewas armed with fire weapons, they left the area around 1780 and crossed Missouri some time after. A band of the few Sotaio Indians lived east of Missouri River and met the uprooted Cheyennes before the end of the century. They soon followed the Cheyennes across Missouri and lived among them south of Cannonball River.


title: North Dakota

text: Eventually, the Cheyenne and the Sutaio became one tribe and turned into mounted buffalo hunters with ranges mainly outside North Dakota. Before the middle of the 19th century, the Arikara entered the future state from the south and joined the Mandan and Hidatsa. With time, a number of Indians entered into treaties with the United States. Many of the treaties defined the territory of a specific tribe.


title: North Dakota

text: The first European to reach the area was the French-Canadian trader Pierre Gaultier, sieur de La Vérendrye, who led an exploration and trading party to the Mandan villages in 1738 guided by Assiniboine Indians.


title: North Dakota

text: European Americans settled in Dakota Territory only sparsely until the late 19th century, when railroads opened up the region. With the advantage of grants of land, they vigorously marketed their properties, extolling the region as ideal for agriculture.


title: North Dakota

text: Differences between the northern and southern part caused resentments between the settlers. The northern part was seen by the more populated southern part as somewhat disreputable, "too much controlled by the wild folks, cattle ranchers, fur traders” and too frequently the site of conflict with the indigenous population. The northern part was generally content with remaining a territory. However, following the territorial capital being moved from Yankton in the southern part to Bismarck, the southern part began to call for division. Finally, at the 1887 territorial election, the voters approved splitting the territory into two. The division was done by the seventh standard parallel.


title: North Dakota

text: Congress passed an omnibus bill for statehood for North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, titled the Enabling Act of 1889, on February 22, 1889, during the administration of President Grover Cleveland. His successor, Benjamin Harrison, signed the proclamations formally admitting North Dakota and South Dakota to the Union on November 2, 1889.


title: North Dakota

text: The rivalry between the two new states presented a dilemma of which was to be admitted first. Harrison directed Secretary of State James G. Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first. The actual order went unrecorded, thus no one knows which of the Dakotas was admitted first. However, since "North Dakota" alphabetically appears before "South Dakota", its proclamation was published first in the Statutes At Large.


title: North Dakota

text: Unrest among wheat farmers, especially among Norwegian immigrants, led to a populist political movement centered in the Non Partisan League ("NPL") around the time of World War I. The NPL ran candidates on the Republican ticket (but merged into the Democratic Party after World War II). It tried to insulate North Dakota from the power of out-of-state banks and corporations.


title: North Dakota

text: In addition to founding the state-owned Bank of North Dakota and North Dakota Mill and Elevator (both still in existence), the NPL established a state-owned railroad line (later sold to the Soo Line Railroad). Anti-corporate laws virtually prohibited a corporation or bank from owning title to land zoned as farmland. These laws, still in force today, after having been upheld by state and federal courts, make it almost impossible to foreclose on farmland, as even after foreclosure, the property title cannot be held by a bank or mortgage company. Furthermore, the Bank of North Dakota, having powers similar to a Federal Reserve branch bank, exercised its power to limit the issuance of subprime mortgages and their collateralization in the form of derivative instruments, and so prevented a collapse of housing prices within the state in the wake of 2008's financial crisis.


title: North Dakota

text: The original North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck burned to the ground on December 28, 1930. It was replaced by a limestone-faced art-deco skyscraper that still stands today. A round of federal investment and construction projects began in the 1950s, including the Garrison Dam and the Minot and Grand Forks Air Force bases.


title: North Dakota

text: Western North Dakota saw a boom in oil exploration in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as rising petroleum prices made development profitable. This boom came to an end after petroleum prices declined.


title: North Dakota

text: In recent years, the state has had lower rates of unemployment than the national average, and increased job and population growth. Much of the growth has been based on development of the Bakken oil fields in the western part of the state. Estimates as to the remaining amount of oil in the area vary, with some estimating over 100 years' worth.


title: North Dakota

text: For decades, North Dakota's annual murder and violent crime rates were regularly the lowest in the United States. In recent years, however, while still below the national average, crime has risen sharply. In 2016, the violent crime rate was three times higher than in 2004, with the rise occurring mostly in the late 2000s, coinciding with the oil boom era. This happened at a time when the national violent crime rate declined slightly. Workers in the oil boom towns have been blamed for much of the increase.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is located in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. It lies at the center of the North American continent and borders Canada to the north. The geographic center of North America is near the town of Center. Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota, and Fargo is the largest city.


title: North Dakota

text: Soil is North Dakota's most precious resource. It is the base of the state's great agricultural wealth. North Dakota also has enormous mineral resources. These mineral resources include billions of tons of lignite coal. In addition, North Dakota has large oil reserves. Petroleum was discovered in the state in 1951 and quickly became one of North Dakota's most valuable mineral resources. In the early 2000s, the emergence of hydraulic fracturing technologies enabled mining companies to extract huge amounts of oil from the Bakken shale rock formation in the western part of the state.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota's economy is based more heavily on farming than the economies of most other states. Many North Dakota factories process farm products or manufacture farm equipment. Many of the state's merchants also rely on agriculture.


title: North Dakota

text: Farms and ranches cover nearly all of North Dakota. They stretch from the flat Red River Valley in the east, across rolling plains, to the rugged Badlands in the west. The chief crop, wheat, is grown in nearly every county. North Dakota harvests more than 90 percent of the nation's canola and flaxseed. It is also the country's top producer of barley and sunflower seeds and a leader in the production of beans, honey, lentils, oats, peas, and sugar beets.


title: North Dakota

text: Few white settlers came to the North Dakota region before the 1870s because railroads had not yet entered the area. During the early 1870s, the Northern Pacific Railroad began to push across the Dakota Territory. Large-scale farming also began during the 1870s. Eastern corporations and some families established huge wheat farms covering large areas of land in the Red River Valley. The farms made such enormous profits they were called bonanza farms. White settlers, attracted by the success of the bonanza farms, flocked to North Dakota, rapidly increasing the territory's population. In 1870, North Dakota had 2,405 people. By 1890, the population had grown to 190,983.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota was named for the Sioux people who once lived in the territory. The Sioux called themselves Dakota or Lakota, meaning allies or friends. One of North Dakota's nicknames is the Peace Garden State. This nickname honors the International Peace Garden, which lies on the state's border with Manitoba, Canada. North Dakota is also called the Flickertail State because of the many flickertail ground squirrels (Richardson's ground squirrel) that live in the central part of the state.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is in the U.S. region known as the Great Plains. The state shares the Red River of the North with Minnesota to the east. South Dakota is to the south, Montana is to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are to the north. North Dakota is near the middle of North America with a stone marker in Rugby, North Dakota marking the "Geographic Center of the North American Continent". With an area of , of which is land, North Dakota is the 19th largest state.


title: North Dakota

text: The western half of the state consists of the hilly Great Plains as well as the northern part of the Badlands, which are to the west of the Missouri River. The state's high point, White Butte at , and Theodore Roosevelt National Park are in the Badlands. The region is abundant in fossil fuels including natural gas, crude oil and lignite coal. The Missouri River forms Lake Sakakawea, the third largest artificial lake in the United States, behind the Garrison Dam.


title: North Dakota

text: The central region of the state is divided into the Drift Prairie and the Missouri Plateau. The eastern part of the state consists of the flat Red River Valley, the bottom of glacial Lake Agassiz. Its fertile soil, drained by the meandering Red River flowing northward into Lake Winnipeg, supports a large agriculture industry. Devils Lake, the largest natural lake in the state, is also found in the east.


title: North Dakota

text: Most of the state is covered in grassland; crops cover most of eastern North Dakota but become increasingly sparse in the center and farther west. Natural trees in North Dakota are found usually where there is good drainage, such as the ravines and valley near the Pembina Gorge and Killdeer Mountains, the Turtle Mountains, the hills around Devils Lake, in the dunes area of McHenry County in central North Dakota, and along the Sheyenne Valley slopes and the Sheyenne delta. This diverse terrain supports nearly 2,000 species of plants.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota has a continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The temperature differences are significant because of its far inland position and being roughly equal distance from the North Pole and the Equator. The variation between monthly highest and lowest temperatures range from 94 °F (52 °C) in June to 138 °F (76 °C) in March.


title: North Dakota

text: At the 2021 estimate North Dakota's population was 774,948 on July 1, 2021, a 0.53% decrease since the 2020 United States census. This makes North Dakota the U.S. state with the largest percentage in population growth since 2011. North Dakota is the fourth least-populous state in the country; only Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming have fewer residents.


title: North Dakota

text: From fewer than 2,000 people in 1870, North Dakota's population grew to near 680,000 by 1930. Growth then slowed, and the population has fluctuated slightly over the past seven decades, hitting a low of 617,761 in the 1970 census, with 642,200 in the 2000 census. Except for Native Americans, the North Dakota population has a lesser percentage of minorities than in the nation as a whole. As of 2011, 20.7% of North Dakota's population younger than age1 were minorities. The center of population of North Dakota is in Wells County, near Sykeston.


title: North Dakota

text: "Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number".


title: North Dakota

text: "Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race."


title: North Dakota

text: Throughout the mid-19th century, Dakota Territory was still dominated by Native Americans; warfare and disease reduced their population at the same time Europeans and Americans were settling in the area. Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, North Dakota, along with most of the Midwest U.S., experienced a mass influx of newcomers from both the eastern United States and immigrants from Europe. North Dakota was a known popular destination for immigrant farmers and general laborers and their families, mostly from Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom. Much of this settlement gravitated throughout the western side of the Red River Valley, as was similarly seen in South Dakota and in a parallel manner in Minnesota. This area is well known for its fertile lands. By the outbreak of the First World War, this was among North America's richest farming regions. But a period of higher rainfall ended, and many migrants weren't successful in the arid conditions. Many family plots were too small to farm successfully.


title: North Dakota

text: From the 1930s until the end of the 20th century, North Dakota's population gradually declined, interrupted by a couple of brief increases. Young adults with university degrees were particularly likely to leave the state. With the advancing process of mechanization of agricultural practices, and environmental conditions requiring larger landholdings for successful agriculture, subsistence farming proved to be too risky for families. Many people moved to urban areas for jobs.


title: North Dakota

text: Since the late 20th century, one of the major causes of migration from North Dakota is the lack of skilled jobs for college graduates. Expansion of economic development programs has been urged to create skilled and high-tech jobs, but the effectiveness of such programs has been open to debate. During the first decade of the 21st century, the population increased in large part because of jobs in the oil industry related to development of unconventional tight oil (shale oil) fields. Elsewhere, the Native American population has increased as some reservations have attracted people back from urban areas.


title: North Dakota

text: According to the 2010 U.S. census, the racial and ethnic composition of North Dakota was 88.7% non-Hispanic white, 5.4% Native American, 1.2% Black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.5% some other race, and 0.2% from two or more races. At the 2019 American Community Survey, North Dakota's racial and ethnic makeup was 83.6% non-Hispanic white, 2.9% Black or African American, 5.0% Native American and Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 0.1% some other race, 2.7% multiracial, and 4.0% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is one of the top resettlement locations for refugees proportionally. According to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, in 2013–2014 "more than 68 refugees" per 100,000 North Dakotans were settled in the state. In fiscal year 2014, 582 refugees settled in the state. Fargo Mayor Mahoney said North Dakota accepting the most refugees per capita should be celebrated given the benefits they bring to the state. In 2015, Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, the state's only resettlement agency, was "awarded $458,090 in federal funding to improve refugee services". 29.8% of immigrants in North Dakota are from Africa leading to a rapid increase in the black proportion of the population in recent decades from 0.6% in 2000 to 3.9% in 2020.


title: North Dakota

text: Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,323 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 21,110 people. Of the residents of North Dakota in 2009, 69.8% were born in North Dakota, 27.2% were born in a different state, 0.6% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 2.4% were born in another country. The age and gender distributions approximate the national average. In 2019, 4.1% were foreign-born residents.


title: North Dakota

text: In 2010, 94.86% (584,496) of North Dakotans over 5 years old spoke English as their primary language. 5.14% (31,684) of North Dakotans spoke a language other than English. 1.39% (8,593) spoke German, 1.37% (8,432) spoke Spanish, and 0.30% (1,847) spoke Norwegian. Other languages spoken included Serbo-Croatian (0.19%), Chinese and Japanese (both 0.15%), and Native American languages and French (both 0.13%). In 2000, 2.5% of the population spoke German in addition to English, reflecting early 20th century immigration.


title: North Dakota

text: The Pew Research Center determined 77% of the adult population was Christian in 2014. In contrast with many southern U.S. states, mainline Protestantism was the largest form of Protestantism practiced (28%). The largest mainline Protestant denomination in North Dakota was the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the United Methodist Church was the second largest. Evangelical Protestants, forming the second largest Protestant branch (22%), were also dominated by Lutherans; the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod was the largest Evangelical denomination. Among the Christian population of North Dakota, the Roman Catholic Church was the single largest Christian denomination. According to the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, 75% of the adult population were Christian, with mainline Protestantism remaining the majority and evangelical Protestantism at 18% of the population.


title: North Dakota

text: Per the Pew Research Center in 2014, non-Christian religions accounted for 3% of the adult population, with Islam being the largest non-Christian religion. Other faiths such as Unitarians and New Agers collectively made up 1% of the practicing population. At the 2014 survey, 20% were unaffiliated with any religion, and 2% of North Dakotans were atheist; 13% of the population practiced nothing in particular. The 2020 Public Religion Research Institute's survey determined 22% were unaffiliated with any religion.


title: North Dakota

text: The largest church bodies by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church with 167,349; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 163,209; and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod with 22,003. In 2006, North Dakota had the most churches per capita of any state. Additionally, North Dakota had the highest percentage of church-going population of any state in 2006.


title: North Dakota

text: A 2001 survey indicated 35% of North Dakota's population was Lutheran, and 30% was Catholic. Other religious groups represented were Methodists (7%), Baptists (6%), the Assemblies of God (3%), Presbyterians (1.27%), and Jehovah's Witnesses (1%). Christians with unstated or other denominational affiliations, including other Protestants and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), totaled 3%, bringing the total Christian population to 86%. There were an estimated 920 Muslims and 730 Jews in the state in 2000. Three percent of respondents answered "no religion" on the survey, and 6% declined to answer.


title: North Dakota

text: Agriculture is North Dakota's largest industry, although petroleum, food processing, and technology are also major industries. Its growth rate is about 4.1%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis the economy of North Dakota had a gross domestic product of $55.180 billion in the second quarter of 2018. The per capita income for the state was $34,256, when measured from 2013 to 2017 by the United States Department of Commerce. The three-year median household income from 2013 to 2017 was $61,285.


title: North Dakota

text: According to Gallup data, North Dakota led the U.S. in job creation in 2013 and has done so since 2009. The state has a Job Creation Index score of 40, nearly 10 points ahead of its nearest competitors. North Dakota has added 56,600 private-sector jobs since 2011, creating an annual growth rate of 7.32 percent. According to statistics released in December 2020, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, North Dakota had the highest rate of annual growth in personal consumption expenditures of all 50 states, from 2009-2018. During this time period, annual nominal personal income growth averaged 6% per year, compared to the U.S. average of 4.4%. North Dakota's personal income growth is tied to various private business sectors such as agriculture, energy development, and construction. North Dakota also had the highest growth in personal expenditures on housing and utilities of all states, reflecting the sharply increased demand for housing in the 2010s.


title: North Dakota

text: Just over 21% of North Dakota's total 2013 gross domestic product (GDP) of $49.77 billion comes from natural resources and mining.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is the only state with a state-owned bank, the Bank of North Dakota in Bismarck, and a state-owned flour mill, the North Dakota Mill and Elevator in Grand Forks. These were established by the NPL before World War II.


title: North Dakota

text: As of 2012, Fargo is home to the second-largest campus of Microsoft with 1,700 employees, and Amazon.com employs several hundred in Grand Forks.


title: North Dakota

text: , the state's unemployment rate is among the lowest in the nation at 2.4 percent. With the exception of a five-month period in 2020, the unemployment rate remained below five percent, each month since 1987. At end of 2010, the state per capita income was ranked 17th in the nation, the biggest increase of any state in a decade from rank 38th. The reduction in the unemployment rate and growth in per capita income is attributable to the oil boom in the state. Due to a combination of oil-related development and investing in technology and service industries, North Dakota has had a budget surplus every year since the 2008 market crash.


title: North Dakota

text: Since 1976, the highest that North Dakota's unemployment rate has reached is just 6.2%, recorded in 1983. Every U.S. state except neighboring South Dakota has had a higher unemployment rate during that period.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota's earliest industries were fur trading and agriculture. Although less than 10% of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, it remains a major part of the state's economy. With industrial-scale farming, it ranks 9th in the nation in the value of crops and 18th in total value of agricultural products sold. Large farms generate the most crops. The share of people in the state employed in agriculture is comparatively high: , only two to three percent of the population of the United States is directly employed in agriculture. North Dakota has about 90% of its land area in farms with of cropland, the third-largest amount in the nation. Between 2002 and 2007, total cropland increased by about a million acres (4,000 km); North Dakota was the only state showing an increase. Over the same period, were shifted into soybean and corn monoculture production, the largest such shift in the United States. Agriculturalists are concerned about too much monoculture, as it makes the economy at risk from insect or crop diseases affecting a major crop. In addition, this development has adversely affected habitats of wildlife and birds, and the balance of the ecosystem.


title: North Dakota

text: The state is the largest producer in the U.S. of many cereal grains, including barley (36% of U.S. crop), durum wheat (58%), hard red spring wheat (48%), oats (17%), and combined wheat of all types (15%). It is the second leading producer of buckwheat (20%). , corn became the state's largest crop produced, although it is only 2% of total U.S. production. The Corn Belt extends to North Dakota but is more on the edge of the region instead of in its center. Corn yields are high in the southeast part of the state and smaller in other parts of the state. Most of the cereal grains are grown for livestock feed.


title: North Dakota

text: The state is the leading producer of many oilseeds, including 92% of the U.S. canola crop, 94% of flax seed, 53% of sunflower seeds, 18% of safflower seeds, and 62% of mustard seed. Canola is suited to the cold winters and it matures fast. Processing of canola for oil production produces canola meal as a by-product. The by-product is a high-protein animal feed.


title: North Dakota

text: Soybeans are also an increasingly important crop, with additional planted between 2002 and 2007. Soybeans are a major crop in the eastern part of the state, and cultivation is common in the southeast part of the state. Soybeans were not grown at all in North Dakota in the 1940s, but the crop has become especially common since 1998. In North Dakota soybeans have to mature fast, because of the comparatively short growing season. Soybeans are grown for livestock feed.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is the second leading producer of sugarbeets, which are grown mostly in the Red River Valley. The state is also the largest producer of honey, dry edible peas and beans, lentils, and the third-largest producer of potatoes.


title: North Dakota

text: The energy industry is a major contributor to the economy. North Dakota has both coal and oil reserves. On average, the state's production of oil production grew at average annual rate of 48.4% from 2009-2018. During these years, oil production increased each year from 2009 to 2015, with 2016 marked by a slight decline and a return to growth since. Shale gas is also produced. Lignite coal reserves in Western North Dakota are used to generate about 90% of the electricity consumed, and electricity is also exported to nearby states. North Dakota has the second largest lignite coal production in the U.S. However, lignite coal is the lowest grade coal. There are larger and higher grade coal reserves (anthracite, bituminous coal and subbituminous coal) in other U.S. states.


title: North Dakota

text: Oil was discovered near Tioga in 1951, generating of oil a year by 1984. Recoverable oil reserves have jumped dramatically recently. The oil reserves of the Bakken Formation may hold up to of oil, 25 times larger than the reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A report issued in April 2008 by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the oil recoverable by current technology in the Bakken formation is two orders of magnitude less, in the range of to , with a mean of .


title: North Dakota

text: The northwestern part of the state is the center of the North Dakota oil boom. The Williston, Tioga, Stanley and Minot-Burlington communities are having rapid growth that strains housing and local services. , the state is the 2nd-largest oil producer in the U.S., with an average of per day.


title: North Dakota

text: The Great Plains region, which includes the state of North Dakota, has been referred to as "the Saudi Arabia of wind energy". Development of wind energy in North Dakota has been cost effective because the state has large rural expanses and wind speeds seldom go below .


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota is considered the least visited state, owing, in part, to its not having a major tourist attraction.


title: North Dakota

text: Nonetheless, tourism is North Dakota's third largest industry, contributing more than $3 billion into the state's economy annually. Outdoor attractions like the 144-mile (232-km) Maah Daah Hey Trail and activities like fishing and hunting attract visitors. The state is known for the Lewis & Clark Trail and being the winter camp of the Corps of Discovery. Areas popular with visitors include Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the western part of the state. The park often exceeds 475,000 visitors each year.


title: North Dakota

text: Regular events in the state that attract tourists include "Norsk Høstfest" in Minot, billed as North America's largest Scandinavian festival; the Medora Musical; and the North Dakota State Fair. The state also receives a significant number of visitors from the neighboring Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, particularly when the exchange rate is favorable.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota has six level-II trauma centers, 44 hospitals, 52 rural health clinics, and 80 nursing homes. Major provider networks include Sanford, St. Alexius, Trinity, and Altru.


title: North Dakota

text: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota is the largest medical insurer in the state. North Dakota expanded Medicaid in 2014, and its health insurance exchange is the federal site, HealthCare.gov.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota law requires pharmacies, other than hospital dispensaries and pre-existing stores, to be majority-owned by pharmacists. Voters rejected a proposal to change the law in 2014.


title: North Dakota

text: In the 21st century, North Dakota has an increasing population of Native Americans, who in 2010 made up 5.44% of the population. By the early 19th century the territory was dominated by Siouan-speaking peoples, whose territory stretched west from the Great Lakes area. The word "Dakota" is a Sioux (Lakota/Dakota) word meaning "allies" or "friends".


title: North Dakota

text: The primary historic tribal nations in or around North Dakota, are the Lakota and the Dakota ("The Great Sioux Nation" or "Oceti Sakowin", meaning the seven council fires), the Blackfoot, the Cheyenne, the Chippewa (known as Ojibwe in Canada), and the Mandan. There are six Indian reservations in North Dakota--Spirit Lake Tribe, Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, and The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.


title: North Dakota

text: Social gatherings known as "powwows" (or wacipis in Lakota/Dakota) continue to be an important part of Native American culture and are held regularly throughout the state. Throughout Native American history, powwows were held, usually in the spring, to rejoice at the beginning of new life and the end of the winter cold. These events brought Native American tribes together for singing and dancing and allowed them to meet with old friends and acquaintances, as well as to make new ones. Many powwows also held religious significance for some tribes. Today, powwows are still a part of the Native American culture and are attended by Natives and non-Natives alike. In North Dakota, the United Tribes International Powwow held each September in the capital of Bismarck, is one of the largest powwows in the United States.


title: North Dakota

text: A pow wow is an occasion for parades and Native American dancers in regalia, with many dancing styles presented. It is traditional for male dancers to wear regalia decorated with beads, quills, and eagle feathers; male grass dancers wear colorful fringe regalia, and male fancy dancers wear brightly colored feathers. Female dancers dance much more subtly than male dancers. Fancy female dancers wear cloth, beaded moccasins, and jewelry, while the jingle dress dancer wears a dress made of metal cones. Inter-tribal dances during the powwow, allow everyone (even spectators) to take part in the dancing.


title: North Dakota

text: Around 1870 many European immigrants from Norway settled in North Dakota's northeastern corner, especially near the Red River. Icelanders also arrived from Canada. Pembina was a town of many Norwegians when it was founded; they worked on family farms. They started Lutheran churches and schools, greatly outnumbering other denominations in the area. This group has unique foods such as "lefse" and "lutefisk". The continent's largest Scandinavian event, "Norsk Høstfest", is celebrated each September in Minot's North Dakota State Fair Center, a local attraction featuring art, architecture, and cultural artifacts from all five Nordic countries. The Icelandic State Park in Pembina County and an annual Icelandic festival reflect immigrants from that country, who are also descended from Scandinavians.


title: North Dakota

text: Old World folk customs have persisted for decades in North Dakota, with the revival of techniques in weaving, silver crafting, and wood carving. Traditional turf-roof houses are displayed in parks; this style originated in Iceland. A stave church is a landmark in Minot. Norwegian-Americans constitute nearly one-third or 32.3% of Minot's total population and 30.8% of North Dakota's total population.


title: North Dakota

text: Ethnic Germans who had settled in Russia for several generations since the reign of Catherine the Great grew dissatisfied in the nineteenth century because of economic problems and because of the revocation of religious freedoms for Mennonites and Hutterites, in particular the revocation of exemption from military service in 1871. Most Mennonites and Hutterites migrated to America in the late 1870s. By 1900, about 100,000 had immigrated to the U.S., settling primarily in North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. The south-central part of North Dakota became known as "the German-Russian triangle". By 1910, about 60,000 ethnic Germans from Russia lived in Central North Dakota. These individuals were Lutherans, Mennonites, Hutterites and Roman Catholics who had kept most of their German customs of the time when their ancestors immigrated to Russia. They were committed to agriculture. Traditional iron cemetery grave markers are a famous art form practiced by ethnic Germans.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota's major fine art museums and venues include the Chester Fritz Auditorium, Empire Arts Center, the Fargo Theatre, North Dakota Museum of Art, and the Plains Art Museum. The Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, Minot Symphony Orchestra and Great Plains Harmony Chorus are full-time professional and semi-professional musical ensembles who perform concerts and offer educational programs to the community.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakotan musicians of many genres include blues guitarist Jonny Lang, country music singer Lynn Anderson, jazz and traditional pop singer and songwriter Peggy Lee, big band leader Lawrence Welk, and pop singer Bobby Vee. The state is also home to Indie rock June Panic (of Fargo, signed to Secretly Canadian).


title: North Dakota

text: Hollywood and TV Star Angie Dickinson was born in Kulm and moved to Burbank, Ca as a ten year old. Ed Schultz was known around the country as the host of progressive talk radio show, "The Ed Schultz Show", and "The Ed Show" on MSNBC. Shadoe Stevens hosted "American Top 40" from 1988 to 1995. Josh Duhamel is an Emmy Award-winning actor known for his roles in "All My Children" and "Las Vegas". Nicole Linkletter and CariDee English were winning contestants of Cycles 5 and 7, respectively, of "America's Next Top Model". Kellan Lutz has appeared in movies such as "Stick It", "Accepted", "Prom Night", and "Twilight".


title: North Dakota

text: Bismarck was home of the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League, and currently hosts the Bismarck Bucks of the Indoor Football League.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota has two NCAA Division I teams, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and North Dakota State Bison, and two Division II teams, the Mary Marauders and Minot State Beavers.


title: North Dakota

text: Fargo is home to the USHL ice hockey team the Fargo Force. Fargo is also the home of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association.


title: North Dakota

text: Outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing are hobbies for many North Dakotans. Ice fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling are also popular during the winter months. Residents of North Dakota may own or visit a cabin along a lake. Popular sport fish include walleye, perch, and northern pike.


title: North Dakota

text: The western terminus of the North Country National Scenic Trail is on Lake Sakakawea, where it abuts the Lewis and Clark Trail.


title: North Dakota

text: The state has 10 daily newspapers, the largest being "The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead". Other weekly and monthly publications (most of which are fully supported by advertising) are also available. The most prominent of these is the alternative weekly "High Plains Reader".


title: North Dakota

text: The state's oldest radio station, WDAY-AM, was launched on May 23, 1922. North Dakota's three major radio markets center around Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks, though stations broadcast in every region of the state. Several new stations were built in Williston in the early 2010s. North Dakota has 34 AM and 88 FM radio stations. KFGO in Fargo has the largest audience.


title: North Dakota

text: Broadcast television in North Dakota started on April 3, 1953, when KCJB-TV (now KXMC-TV) in Minot started operations. North Dakota's television media markets are Fargo-Grand Forks (117th largest nationally), including the eastern half of the state, and Minot-Bismarck (152nd), making up the western half of the state. There are currently 31 full-power television stations, arranged into 10 networks, with 17 digital subchannels.


title: North Dakota

text: Public broadcasting in North Dakota is provided by Prairie Public, with statewide television and radio networks affiliated with PBS and NPR. Public access television stations open to community programming are offered on cable systems in Bismarck, Dickinson, Fargo, and Jamestown.


title: North Dakota

text: The state has 11 public colleges and universities, five tribal community colleges, and four private schools. The largest institutions are North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota.


title: North Dakota

text: There were 142 schools in North Dakota cities and 4,722 one room schools in the state in 1917. The urban schools had 36,008 students, and 83,167 students attended the one room schools. 1,889 of the one room schools closed between 1929 and 1954. In 1954 North Dakotan cities had 513 schools while 2,447 one room schools were in the state. At that time the urban schools had 94,019 students while the one room schools had 25,212 students. The Nation's Report Card ranks North Dakota fifteenth in the country in K-12 education based on standardized test scores.


title: North Dakota

text: The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services provides 24/7 communication and coordination for more than 50 agencies. In addition, "it administers federal disaster recovery programs and the Homeland Security Grant Program". In 2011, the Department selected Geo-Comm, Inc. "for the Statewide Seamless Base Map Project", which will facilitate "identifying locations 9–1–1 callers" and route emergency calls based on locations. In 1993 the state adopted the Burkle addressing system numbering rural roads and buildings to aid in the delivery of emergency services.


title: North Dakota

text: Transportation in North Dakota is overseen by the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The major Interstate highways are Interstate 29 and Interstate 94, with I-29 and I-94 meeting at Fargo, with I-29 oriented north to south along the eastern edge of the state, and I-94 bisecting the state from east to west between Minnesota and Montana. A unique feature of the North Dakota Interstate Highway system is virtually all of it is paved in concrete, not blacktop, because of the extreme weather conditions it must endure. BNSF and the Canadian Pacific Railway operate the state's largest rail systems. Many branch lines formerly used by BNSF and Canadian Pacific Railway are now operated by the Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad and the Red River Valley and Western Railroad.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota's principal airports are the Hector International Airport (FAR) in Fargo, Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Bismarck Municipal Airport (BIS), Minot International Airport (MOT) and Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) in Williston.


title: North Dakota

text: Amtrak's Empire Builder runs through North Dakota, making stops at Fargo (2:13 am westbound, 3:35 am eastbound), Grand Forks (4:52 am westbound, 12:57 am eastbound), Minot (around 9 am westbound and around 9:30 pm eastbound), and four other stations. It is the descendant of the famous line of the same name run by the Great Northern Railway, which was built by the tycoon James J. Hill and ran from St. Paul to Seattle.


title: North Dakota

text: Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound and Jefferson Lines. Public transit in North Dakota includes daily fixed-route bus systems in Fargo, Bismarck-Mandan, Grand Forks, and Minot, paratransit service in 57 communities, along with multi-county rural transit systems.


title: North Dakota

text: As with the federal government of the United States, political power in North Dakota state government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.


title: North Dakota

text: The Constitution of North Dakota and the North Dakota Century Code form the formal law of the state; the "North Dakota Administrative Code" incorporates additional rules and policies of state agencies.


title: North Dakota

text: The executive branch is headed by the elected governor. The current governor is Doug Burgum, a Republican who took office December 15, 2016, after his predecessor, Jack Dalrymple did not seek reelection. The current Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota is Brent Sanford, who is also the President of the Senate. The offices of governor and lieutenant governor have four-year terms, which are next up for election in 2024. The governor has a cabinet consisting of appointed leaders of various state government agencies, called commissioners. The other elected constitutional offices are secretary of state, attorney general, state auditor, and state treasurer.


title: North Dakota

text: The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The state has 47 districts, each with one senator and two representatives. Both senators and representatives are elected to four-year terms. The state's legal code is named the North Dakota Century Code.


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota's court system has four levels, one of which is dormant. Municipal courts serve the cities. Decisions from municipal courts are generally appealable to district court. Most cases start in the district courts, which are courts of general jurisdiction. There are 42 district court judges in seven judicial districts. Appeals from final district court decisions are made to the North Dakota Supreme Court. An intermediate court of appeals was provided for by statute in 1987, but the North Dakota Court of Appeals has only heard 65 cases since its inception. The North Dakota Court of Appeals is essentially dormant, but capable of meeting if the North Dakota Supreme Court's case load necessitates the reestablishment of intermediate review.


title: North Dakota

text: Historically, North Dakota was populated by the Mandan, Hidatsa, Lakota, and Ojibwe, and later by the Sanish and Métis. Today, five federally recognized tribes within the boundaries of North Dakota have independent, sovereign relationships with the federal government and territorial reservations:


title: North Dakota

text: North Dakota's United States Senators are John Hoeven (R) and Kevin Cramer (R). The state has one at-large congressional district represented by Representative Kelly Armstrong (R).