North Dakota capital city since 1883, first as capital of the Dakota Territory, and then as state capital since 1889. Minot is a city in northern North Dakota and is home of the North Dakota State Fair and Norsk Høstfest. A few miles west of Bismarck on the west side of the Missouri River, the city of Mandan was named for the Mandan Indians who inhabited the area at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. New Salem is the site of the world's largest statue of a holstein cow; the world's largest statue of a bison is in Jamestown. Grand
Capital punishment in North Dakota Capital punishment in North Dakota Capital punishment was abolished in the U.S. state of North Dakota in 1973. Historically, a total of eight people have been executed in North Dakota, including one execution prior to North Dakota attaining statehood. According to the North Dakota Penal Code, the imposing of sentences was handed to a jury, with the suggested punishment for first-degree murder being death by hanging or life imprisonment. Until 1903 executions were carried out in public. The first private execution was that of John Rooney, who was hanged inside the Cass County prison on October 17, 1905. Rooney was