A little over two years ago the Ramsey County Fair Board was contacted by a member of the North Dakota National Guard who said they were looking for a training project for their road building unit. Which was exactly what the Fair Board was looking for, a chance to correct drainage on the fairgrounds with the Western State Bank Event Center being constructed.
First there were many permits to be obtained and then a project was set to begin. Initially the plans were to do the entire project in one year but after survey work was completed it was decided to split the project into two phases: Phase 1 – in 2026, on the west side of the building; and Phase 2 – in 2027, on the east side.
In June of 2026 during their annual training, the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 815th Engineer Company, Detachment 2, based in Lisbon, N.D., undertook the project in Devils Lake at the Ramsey County Fairgrounds/ Peterson Arena. The unit was tasked with improving drainage, constructing a sustainable parking lot, and replacing materials around the site.
Before beginning the project, soldiers completed several required training events. The week began with soldiers taking the Army Fitness Test and qualifying with their individual weapons on the range. Following these requirements, 815th Det. 2 conducted a site reconnaissance to better understand the project scope and allow soldiers to ask questions and clarify objectives.
Throughout the remainder of the week, soldiers trained on a variety of heavy equipment, including scrapers, graders, skid steers, loaders, and bulldozers. A key priority for the platoon was ensuring all personnel were both confident in operating the equipment and committed to maintaining safety standards.
By the end of the project, 815th Det. 2 had moved approximately 9,000 cubic yards of material and had a total of approximately 1,732 working hours. Their work resulted in a newly constructed parking lot and side road with improved drainage, along with the removal and replacement of existing gravel. They did have some weather delays that put off most of the graveling of the parking lot, but the Fair Board will continue working on that and preparing for the construction next year.
In 2027, the project will primarily consist of building up a road on the east side of the property to keep the trailers away from the general public, thus helping with safety. There will also be drainage and parking lot work on this site. There is also a small RV site being developed on the west side for overnight campers for our events.
The Fair Board is grateful to the National Guard and all others that have helped and supported them with this project, it is becoming a fairground for the whole community to be proud of.