Minot Mayor to Run for Second Term 

Shaun Sipma says second term would be his last 

MINOT—Mayor Shaun Sipma announced today he will run for a second and final term as mayor. 

In his press release Mayor Sipma stated, “There is a tremendous amount of optimism and growth taking place right now in the Magic City. We have become a much more business friendly community in the past three years thanks to the overhaul of the City’s previous Planning and Zoning ordinances, strengthening the collaboration with our community partners, and investments in our infrastructure that are paying dividends.”   

Mayor Sipma spoke to The Dakotan about his decision to seek re-election. “We always hope to accomplish as much as we can in a single term, and most of what I set out to do when I initially ran has been completed.” He stated he had to ask himself, “Do I have the energy and fervor that’s absolutely necessary to get through the next four years to do what’s required?” He continued, “This takes a lot of time; it takes a lot of coordination. It’s a part-time job, but it’s not part-time hours.”  

Regarding his goals for a second term, Mayor Sipma outlined a handful, including: 

• Reducing the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Control Project from its current 20-year construction timetable down to 10. 
• Conclude the Northwest Area Water Supply Project and finally get Missouri River water to North Central North Dakota. 
• Successfully close out the $74.3 million National Disaster Resiliency (NDR) HUD grant projects by the deadline of September 30, 2023. 
• Further strengthen the relationship between Minot and Minot Air Force Base as well as securing economic development opportunities with the Department of Defense.  
• Further the relationship with Minot community partners to collectively improve the quality of life and resiliency of the Magic City. 

Mayor Sipma explained that the NDR projects could have been at least much nearer completion, but they were delayed because of COVID. 

Given that Mayor Sipma has now indicated that a second term would be his last, he expressed some thoughts about what Minot could do to prepare for their next mayor. 

“This is something I and other elected officials and even the community need to talk about,” Mayor Sipma declared. “If a person is serious about political office, don’t just follow it on YouTube, but show up to meetings. Show up with a vision and develop that vision in detail.” That way a potential candidate can communicate why his or her vision would help the City. 

Communication and debate is an aspect of this upcoming campaign that Mayor Sipma looks forward to. “We don’t want to see any election be unopposed. I hope someone else steps up as [another] candidate so we can have those debates.”  

For more information on Mayor Sipma, see his Facebook page. 

greg.demme@mydakotan.com