Valley City State University
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analysis notebook
For my analysis I thought it would be best to just post the notes I took during the site visit.
Important observations:
-reoccuring stone retaining wall / building foundations
-traditional college feel
-walking distance
-topographical opportunity
-disconnect of athletics area
-meandering of river
-friendly people
-close knit group
Sheyenne River
The Sheyenne River runs through Valley City and adjacent to both sites in this project. This analysis will focus on the river, its uses, tendencies and other properties pertinent to the development of our designs.
Basic Info
The Sheyenne River flows from the central part of North Dakota and empties into the Red River north of Fargo.
Popular uses
Canoeing
The Sheyenne River is a popular canoeing destination. Areas below the Baldhill Dam offer the best opportunities, with many launch points. The river is designated a National Scenic Wild River.
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VCSU Footbridge
A wooden footbridge (originally a single plank with handrails) across the Sheyenne opened in the fall of 1892, linking the college to the city. As there were no dormitories on campus at the time and most students lived on the opposite side of the river, a bridge was a necessity. However, this bridge had to be taken up every year when the ice went off the river, causing expense and inconvenience.
The current ornate bridge was built in 1901. It is a three-span, 150 foot long suspension bridge-- the only one of its kind in North Dakota. This bridge has always been a popular gathering place in the community for young and old alike. The Valley City State Normal School Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The VCSU footbridge works very well as an entry to the campus. It is welcoming and informative about what you will be approaching once the bridge is crossed. The bridge accomplishes what VCSU wants out of the entry we are responsible for. Why not make them similar?
Source: http://www.hellovalley.com/valleycity/
Recreation
People in the community are connected to the river not only by proximity, but also recreational opportunities such as fishing.
Scenic
The river offers many beautiful views, both inside and outside the city.
Flooding History
While the Red River of the North floods nearly annually, the Sheyenne river floods not nearly as often, and for the purposes of current project, current flood control implementations such as the dikes protecting both banks will more than likely be sufficient in preventing any property damage along the sites.
During the 1997 flooding of the Red River in Grand Forks, Sheyenne River communities fared well due to precautionary measures taken by the Army Corps of Engineers. The construction of a diversion channel near Horace, ND is believed to have alleviated flooding risks for cities like West Fargo and Harwood ND.
Soil Survey
Classification #2 Barnes-Svea-Vuse association: Deep, level to rolling, well drained and moderately well drained, medium textured soils
Classification #8 Renshaw-Divide-Fordville association: Deep, level to moderately steep, somewhat excessively drained, somwhat poorly drained, and well drained, medium textured soils.
Classification #9 Buse-Barnes-Nutely-Kloten association: Shallow and deep, level to steep, well drained, fine textured, medium textured and moderately fine textured soils.
Classification #6 Gardena-Glyndon-Overly association: Deep, level to gently sloping, moderately well drained and somewhat poorly drained, medium textured and moderately fine textured soils.
Classification #5 Southam-Vallers association: Deep, level, poorly drained and very porrly drained, medium textured and moderately fine textured soils.
Detailed Classifications
9B-Nutley-Clayey 9D-Nutley-Clayey 56-LaDelle-Overflow 83F-Buse-Thin Upland, Loam, Clay Loam
National Scenic Byway Ryan's
About the Byway
The Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway is 63 miles long starting from Baldhill Dam just north of Valley City and ending in Lisbon, North Dakota. The byway travels along old pioneer wagon trails and Native American foot paths. Along the path, that takes roughly 9 hours to complete allows travelers to experience historic sites and nature in general. A traveler can experience the blooming lilacs and chokecherries in the spring and in the fall people can experience all of the colors in the trees from greens to yellows to reds. People can also experience the byway with fishing, hiking, biking, and canoeing in the spring, summer, and fall. Snowmobiling, cross-country and downhill skiing are great to experience in the winter.
Pictures of Sites along the Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway
 [Rosebud Visitor Center] has a 1881 Northern Pacific Superintendents rail car caboose named Rosebud. |
 [Walker Dam] on north side of County Road 13 along the Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway. |
 [Waldheim Church] founded in 1900 a place of interest along the along the Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway. |
 [Pyramid Hill] with a Viking Warrior, a monument to the predominantly Scandinavian ancestry. |
 [Fort Ransom State Park] offers great canoeing in the spring, summer, and fall |
 [Theodore P. Slattumv's] cabin built in 1879. He was one of the largest landowners in Ransom County. |
 [Standing Rock State Historical Site] placed by Sioux Indians as a sacred monument. |
 A bridge at [Faust Park] |
Recognition
- In June of 2002 was designated a National Byway by the National Scenic Byways Program.
- Listed by the National Geographic's Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways as a great place for a "Fall Color Drive".
- Map of Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway
- Important sites along the Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway
Demographics of Valley City
Jean Beaupre
Population
- There are roughly 6,800 people in the establishment of Valley City covering 3.3 square miles with an elevation of 1222 feet.
- 47.2% Males
- 52.8% Females
- The 2005 prediction for the population was there was a -5.7% change.
- Median residents age is 40.6
Values
- Median Household income $28,050(year 2000)
- That $14.50/hr before taxes.
- Median House values $61,500(year 2000)
Agriculture in Barnes county
- Corn, Soybeans, Spring Wheat, Sunflowers
- Sand and Gravel Produced
Races
- White Non-Hispanic (96.7%)
- American Indian (1.1%)
- Hispanic (0.8%)
- Black (0.7%)
- Two or more races (0.7%)
Heritage
- German (45.5%)
- Norwegian (38.8%)
- Irish (9.1%)
- Swedish (5.2%)
- French (4.8%)
- English (3.8%)
Crime
crime is literally non-existent in Valley City.
Climate
Schools
- Valley City State University
- Full time enrollment 921:101 SW COLLEGE ST
- Valley City High School (.8 miles-3 mins.)
- Students 449:493 CENTRAL AVE N
- Jefferson Elementary School (1.2 mi about 4 mins)
- Students 293:1150 CENTRAL AVE N
- Washington Elementary School(0.8 mi about 3 mins)
- Students 281:510 8TH AVE SW
- Valley City Junior High School (.8 miles-3mins)
- Students 192:493 CENTRAL AVE N
- Sheyenne Valley Special Ed (0.5 mi about 2 mins)
- 232 3RD ST NE
- Sheyenne Valley Area Career & Technical Center
- 801 VALLEY AVE SE
- St. Catherine Elementary School
- Students: 56:540 3 AVE NE
Connection to Project
- Population
- Small Town atmosphere
- Male to female ratio equal
- Bringing residents to location
- Values
- Having inexpensive, if not free, activities
- Races
- Consideration for all races is important but always keep in mind that 97% of the residents are white.
- Heritage
- The use of heritage can lead to great inspiration for any project. German and Norwegian heritage can play great roles in design.
- For example inspiration from German parks could be greatly used.
- Crime
- The minimal crime rate can be utilized by having certain advantages to the design that other sites couldn’t maybe have in an unsafe place.
- Having awareness is still important though. Anything can happen at anytime.
- Climate
- Weather is so important.
- Things to consider:
- Where the wind goes at all times
- Sun location on site
- Rain Fall
- Flooding
- Schools
- It’s important to know other schools locations to bring them in to the parks.
- The community needs to brought in as well as students.
Wildlife and Wetlands of Valley City
Wetlands
- Wetlands are essential to waterfowl production and are important habitat for other migratory birds.
- Wetlands provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for waterfowl
- During fall and spring, the peak concentration of birds can reach the thousands.
Wildlife
- Types of Wildlife
- Principle waterfowl nesting species:
- Canada Geese
- Mallards
- Pintails
- Blue-Winged Grebes
- American Avocets
- Amphibians
- Leopard Frogs
- Tiger Salamanders
- Principle waterfowl nesting species:
- High Rates of Nest Predation
- Nest predators include:
- Red Fox
- Stripped Skunks
- Raccoon
- Franklin's Ground Squirrels
- Valley City's Water Management District has implemented electric predator barriers
- Nest predators include:
Nesting Boxes
- Provide a secure nesting place for the waterfowl.
- Tips for placing a nesting box:
- Facing the water
- High enough above the highest flood water level
- 30 feet away from other boxes
- Contain 4" of nesting material
- Within 200 yards of water
Safety Concerns
Mindy Morgenstern
- Valley City Forum
- Mindy Morgenstern, 22, of New Salem, was found dead in her off-campus apartment last September. Former Barnes County jailer Moe Maurice Gibbs, 34, is accused of killing her.
- Forensic testing has determined that fingerprints found in a slain Valley City State University student's apartment do not match those of anyone fingerprinted during the investigation into her death.
- Gibbs is slated to face trial on June 19 in Minot on a Class AA felony murder charge in connection with Morgenstern's death, but testing on many items from the scene and obtained by search warrant is not yet complete.
- Testing has matched DNA voluntarily submitted by Gibbs to scrapings found underneath at least two of Morgenstern's fingernails.
- A light-colored hair found in Morgenstern's hand was one of five items sent to an independent laboratory for analysis after an agreement by both the defense and the state, according to a Jan. 31 order signed by Southeast District Court Judge John Paulson, who is presiding over the case.
- Police chief Ross said the last homicide in Valley City, population 6,825, was the 2003 triple murder of Sharon Hatcher, 42, daughter April, 16, and Michael Barnett, Jr. Daniel Jantzen, 57, is still serving time on the three consecutive life terms for the killings, Ross said.
Crime Stats
Registered sex offenders in Valley City, North Dakota
- According to research of the North Dakota and other state lists there were 3 registered sex offenders living in Valley City in early 2007.
The ratio of number of residents in Valley City to the number of sex offenders is 2275 to 1. The number of registered sex offenders compared to the number of residents in this city is near the state average.
- Hayden, Kristopher Lee
Address: Unknown(absconded) Zip code: 58072 Crime: Lewd Conduct With Child - Hayden Came Home From A Night Out Drinking And Crawled Into Bed With A 13 Year Old Babysitter. He Forced Her To Engage In Oral Sex And Intercourse. Sex: Male Date of birth: 1975-04-03 Eye color: Blue Hair color: Brown Height: 6'2 Weight: 185 lbs. Race: White Based on this official North Dakota offender page
- Stephens, Russell Wayne
Address: 324 6th Ave Sw #2 Zip code: 58072 Crime: Gross Sexual Imposition - Stephens Had Oral Sex And Intercourse With A 10--year-old Girl. Stephens Claims To Have No Recollection Of The Offense And Is An Untreated Offender. Sex: Male Date of birth: 1965-07-30 Eye color: Brown Hair color: Black Height: 6'3 Weight: 205 lbs. Race: White Based on this official North Dakota offender page
- Tabor, Jesse Dwight
Address: 461 - 7th Ave Nw Zip code: 58072 Crime: Attempted 1st Degree Rape - Tabor Had Anal Sex And Oral Sex With A Five To Nine Year Old Girl Over A Period Of Four Years. Sex: Male Date of birth: 1960-05-09 Eye color: Brown Hair color: Brown Height: 5'11 Weight: 240 lbs. Race: White Based on this official North Dakota offender page
Suggestions
- People feel more comfortable when they can see their surroundings, especially at night. Introducing a light source can make people feel safe and discourage crime at the same time. Well lit walkways and buildings can help eliminate that “creepy feeling”.
- NDSU has incorporated an Emergency Blue light system into the campus. If someone feels threatened or witnesses a crime they can call the authorities from the Blue Light phones.
Increasing Visibility and Access
One of the major concerns from board members was lack of noticable signage. Using existing architecture from the site, I propose a form of signage that will be much more noticable than previously before.
An opportunity to connect the community to the river as well as the college would be to create platforms near the edge of the river. Currently, the river is used for fishing amongst members of the commmunity. By creating such platforms with possibility for wi/fi access, students may find this to be a great place to go and study as well as relax.
A proposed walking/biking path is a great way to create community traffic along the college, raising its awareness. The path would also create a safe place for recreation and exercise.
Campus Community Relations
The Valley City campus, has a strong small community feeling. The design sites are in close proximity with residential housing and some of the buildings on campus itself.
The strongest sense of community is away from the football field/bubble and across the bridge onto the main campus. Students were studying our class is if to say “Do you go to school here?” It seemed obvious that we were not familiar faces. This is a positive reaction. It shows that many students on campus know each other or at least recognize people (something that may not be an everyday occurrence at a larger University).
We also walked across the footbridge that connects the campus to the main street of the town. At the edge of the bride an elderly couple was also crossing the bridge, walking toward campus. The community is aware of the location of campus and it is possible to integrate the outside community into the college to create an even stronger sense of place.
Bringing a variety of people into a space is the goal of our design site east of the bubble. Integrating the design site to the main campus community is key for not only the students but the community.
Small Community Advantages
- Citizens have more aquaintences on a daily basis.
- More people are active members in the community.
- Less traveling time between destinations.
chidozie
Noted phenomena and possible changes that can be made to the vcsu campus site
We went on an excursion to valley city state university with the view of modifying some already existing landscape .With the following observations some ideas can be drawn to aid in creating some sort of functional change in the landscape.
On the corner of 4th street west which happens to be a major if not the most Major Street on campus existed one of the potential site areas for change.
Firstly this area was rather heavily fenced keeping the space to itself .This didn’t make sense as directly behind the space stood a road and then the physical health education building used continuously for sporting activities .In front of the space also stood the student family housing complex where apparently student, staff and their families lived. Fencing this area turns the student family housing complex and the physical education building into separate entities. This space could help open up a connection between these two areas which in turn could open up a connection to the rest of the campus.
As well it was noticed that some sort of renovation had to take place with regards to the facilities this space already had. These facilities included the dilapidated tennis courts and basket ball courts on site. Just ripping these from the site would take away from the sites original intent which was to create an open outdoor space for sports and interaction between students and the community at large. Looking into reinforcing the trend of certain sports within this area as well as the renovation of already existent facilities should bring new life into the area.
The second area of design most notably the parking lot is in bad shape. Its slope is steep around the edges and it cement surface is badly cracked. The trees around the area are overcrowding even though they the do supply shade to the parking lot. The fencing around the parking lot is too domineering and shouldn’t exist.
Valley City State University Academics
Business and Information Technology
Focussed on combining the traditional education with the aspects of hands-on training in current computer technology. Students learn to integrate computer technology with communication skills.
Communication Arts and Social Science
Students are provided with the knowledge of government, politics, and sociology. Also enables students to understand social reality, addressing social issues, and to enhance human welfare.
School of Education and Graduate Studies
Teaches students to build and effective teaching ability to meet all types of learning needs. The students also learn to explore the shaping of education in American by law and the legal system.
Fine Arts
Provides opportunities for students preparing them for careers such as commercial art, computer graphics, and gallery work. The Department of Art aslo adds a cultural environment for the campus and the surrounding community.
Math, Science, and Health & Physical Education
Math majors have a variety of careers to choose from such as industry, government, education, and further graduate study. Science majors have well developed classrooms, labs, a planetarium, and a greenhouse to meet the standards of today's society. Through health and physical education the students learn how to develop their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that occur throughout a person's life.
References
http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/majors/cmit.shtml
http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/majors/socs.shtml
http://www.vcsu.edu/academics/
