Damn, we're becoming a big city. There was a gang-related shooting.

[SmileyBoy]

Don't laugh, it's only a city of 100,000.

It actually happened two weeks ago, but on the news tonight, they're talking about four men from Fargo and Moorhead who are gonna be on trial for a gang-related shooting at a convenience store in Wahpeton, ND. Supposedly, these guys were Chicago gang members living in the area, but there's some doubt that these are the actual guys who did it.

The thing is now, that I was born here in Fargo and lived here until the 3rd grade. Back in the late 80's and early 90's, the biggest story you would see on the news here was if an apartment building burnt down. The biggest crimes you would usually see in Fargo were wife-beating disturbances, or a basic, no-blood-spilled armed robbery every 6 months or so.

I moved to Minneapolis at age 10, and it was a whole other story. Of course there was the high crime rate in the mid-90's, earning Minneapolis the shortly-lived nickname "Murderapolis". Now I move back here, and while the crime rate is nothing compared to the Twin Cities, there's still robberies every two weeks or so, and there's actually murders happening almost every month. Back in 1990, there would probably be one murder every 18 months to 2 years. Now you folks may sneer and think that type of thing is no big deal, but it is to a lot of people here in bland, comatose North Dakota.

One indicator is that Fargo-Moorhead's metro area population has increased to over 200,000 from 150,000 in 1990. But crime has risen dramatically as well. It's wonderfully surprising to see that the city has grown so much in the 11 years I was gone, but I would prefer not to see the stigma of crime associated with growth of most cities.

But I guess that's basically the price you pay in America.

[alexwcovington]

1. Meh

It happens. 640,000 people, even spread out so much, there's eventually a crazy or two.

[SmileyBoy]

2. Especially with the meth. HOOOOO-Doggy, the meth.

I forgot to mention the meth labs that are becoming almost as plentiful as cattle around here. You already know what I mean, though.:-)

[dobak]

3. What about that shooting of the lady in West Fargo 4-5 years ago?

That was gang-related also

Fargo is growing up

[Demobrat]

4. Where there's grinding poverty, there's crime.

This whole country is going to be one big crime spree soon.

[SmileyBoy]

5. There's almost no poverty here.

The average income here is just a tad below national average, but our "slums" are mostly low-income apartment complexes tht look actually quite nice. It's really a Canadian-style city, in that the poverty and slums are not noticeable. You'd know what I mean if you've seen "Bowling For Columbine". Also, most of the poor live in apartments and trailer parks in Moorhead anyway. Most of F-M is either quaint middle-class inner city, or affluent suburb.

[Demobrat]

6. Well then I'm flummoxed.

What's the motive?