Veterans Find Community in North Dakota
The Peace Garden State provides those who served with entertainment, opportunities and welcoming communities.
When former Master Sgt. Nick Weisgerber joined the Air Force after high school, he was used to moving. While born in Washington, D.C., he lived in rural Virginia, Washington and Montana growing up.
“I’m not really from anywhere,” he says.
Relocating multiple times prepared him for military life, but he hoped he would eventually find a place to put down roots – though he never imagined it would be Minot, North Dakota.
Across the state, veterans are finding community in North Dakota. In fact, according to the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 56,000 veterans call the Peace Garden State home.
North Dakota is Friendly and Full of Opportunities
The thriving community of active-duty personnel stationed around the state make it a welcoming place for people no matter where they are in their military career.
Along with access to VA hospitals in Fargo, Miles City, Montana, and Fort Meade, South Dakota, North Dakota offers a range of continuing education and career opportunities for veterans.
Former Staff Sgt. Kendra Henry understands this range of possibilities better than most. As a veterans employment specialist for Job Service North Dakota, she helps others find their calling once they leave the military and connects them with additional services beyond employment.
“Mentoring, helping other people figure out what they were doing – those are soft skills I developed while I was in the Air Force that I still put into use here in my current job,” she says.
The vibrant military community and all that North Dakota has to offer motivated Weisgerber, Henry and many other veterans to remain after their service.
North Dakota is Perfect for Families
Weisgerber was first stationed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he met his wife, Koral. Then he was reassigned to Misawa Air Base in Japan, where their son, Nicholas, was born. Next, at Travis Air Force Base near Vacaville, California, they welcomed two more children, Rose and Christopher.
“In 2019, I was selected to become a first sergeant, and following my training, we received orders to Minot Air Force Base,” Weisgerber says. “While at Minot, I was the first sergeant for the 91st Missile Group, 5th Maintenance Group and 5th Munitions Squadron.”
After retiring in 2023, Weisgerber and his family decided to stay in Minot, and he began working in human resources at Trinity Health. Since Minot is an Air Force city, he’s able to stay in touch with other veterans at work and around the community, as well as his friends who are still serving.
Plus, Weisgerber finds plenty to do in his free time, though he doesn’t have much. Using his GI Bill benefits, he is completing the bachelor’s degree he started while in the Air Force, and his family keeps him busy with dance lessons, hockey practices and family skate sessions at Maysa Arena.
“Minot has proven to be a very family-friendly town,” he says. “Minot Parks and Recreation does a great job of providing activities for families year-round for very low or no cost,” he says. “The addition of the Magic City Discovery Center here in town is an awesome place to take kids, and we love going to Minot State events and the Minotauros hockey games.”
There is Plenty to Do in North Dakota
Born in Michigan and raised in Georgia, Henry also moved around as a child. A self-described “military brat,” Henry knew by the end of eighth grade that she wanted to join the military. Her father was thrilled that she wanted to follow in his footsteps.
After completing training to be a cyber transport technician, Henry was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base. One of her first missions was setting up the High Frequency Global Communications System, which transmits and monitors signals and emergency action messages globally for senior leader communications. Henry also worked on base communications and training, and she deployed to Kuwait in 2012.
“I had a lot of opportunities to do a lot of different things within my own career field and even stepping out of my career field to help others,” she says. “Then I separated from the Air Force the summer of 2019 to start looking for what I wanted to do next in my life.”
While she took a year off to figure things out career-wise, she wanted to stay in Grand Forks – North Dakota had become home to her and her husband, Richard.
Henry stays connected with area veterans outside of her job at Job Service North Dakota. She participates in a women veterans group at the local VA clinic and sits on the military affairs committees for the chambers of commerce in Greater Grand Forks and the Devils Lake regions.
“I’m big on veterans helping veterans,” she says. “We made a lot of friends in the community in our time here, and we just decided that this was our new home.”
With their daughter, Kariana, Henry and her husband spend time at the local library, which has great programming for children and adults year-round. They also enjoy attending comic book conventions and spending time outdoors in the warmer months.
“There’s always something to do in North Dakota, whether you’re in Grand Forks, whether you’re in Minot, whether you’re in Fargo,” she says. “You just have to be willing to brave that cold weather and go out and do it.”
This article was sponsored by the North Dakota Department of Commerce.