This 30-minute documentary chronicles the bank’s fascinating history and reviews its key role in financing the state’s economic future.
During the early 1900s, North Dakota’s economy was dangerously dependent on a single industry—agriculture, an industry controlled by financial interests outside the state. To diversify the economy and regain control of its financial future, North Dakota created a unique asset: the state-owned Bank of North Dakota. North Dakota is the only state in the union with a state-owned bank. The program documents the rise of the Non-Partisan League and its struggle to overthrow the out of state interests that controlled the North Dakota economy and chronicles the political infighting, the dirty tricks, the back room deals, and the amazing series of events that led to the creation of the bank. “The Bank of North Dakota” features historians, economists, bank staff members and members of the Industrial Commission discussing how the bank came into existence, how it has responded over the years to its mission, and its evolving role in promoting commerce, agriculture and industry.
