THE CITY OF CHOKECHERRY, NORTH DAKOTA

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The city of Chokecherry started as a single oil drill in 1951 and became an official city in central North Dakota on May Day of 1953. It flourished thanks to the vision of its founder, Ren Iverson, an oil tycoon, city developer, and inaugural mayor. What started as a boom town destined for bust, Iverson and other early inhabitants willed it to push on. With subsequent oil booms in the 1980s and early 2000s, Chokecherry expanded faster than a charging buffalo across the plains until it became the sprawling metropolis we know today.

 

Now the largest northern city between Minneapolis and Seattle, Chokecherry’s rise came at a cost. Seen as the ultimate sanctuary city for criminals because of lax police presence and loose municipal policies, the city attracts misfits from all over the universe. Combine the seediest and wildest parts of Chicago, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Finnska, and Devil’s Point, and you have a taste of Chokecherry. Born out of a legacy of the rancorous oil industry, the city is now considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Despite the constant stressors in everyday life, Chokecherrians are proud to use the nickname of their beloved city: Rough-N-Tumble-R-Us.