The Fargo Public Library has bike locks to check out for the day while visiting the Library. Bike locks are available at all three Library locations and can be borrowed with a Fargo Public Library card in good standing. The locks are due the same day as checkout and may be returned to any library book return. The library is also gearing up for fall and planning Storytime To Go packets for families. Each packet, is geared for children ages 2 to 5 and will contain everything needed to have a successful storytime at home. Each packet also contains a book for the child’s home library. Storytime To Go packets will be available starting Sept. 8 while supplies last.
The Fargo Public Library’s annual Summer Reading Program ended August 15th and some of the numbers for this year’s program included: 212 children up to age 4 registered and 3,041 books read; 566 children age 4 to 12 registered with 595,448 minutes read; 118 teens registered with 162,187 minutes read; and 552 adults registered and they read 2,508 books.
Fargo Police Officer Dirk Thiedeman has been selected to fill the Downtown Resource Officer position starting in January. The Fargo Police Department K-9 teams traveled to Bismarck recently for regional training and won 1st and 3rd place in the Iron Dog Competition.
The second quarter multi-family vacancy and construction survey by Appraisal Services Incorporated showed a drop of 1.87 percent in metro-wide vacancy, from 8.5 percent in March to 6.63 percent as of June 1st. The Fargo rate dropped from 9.05 percent in March to 6.69 percent as of June 1st, a difference of 2.36 percent. The last time a drop in vacancy of this magnitude occurred was in the fall of 2008 and is due to strengthening demand coupled with continued low volume of new units coming online. There is a decrease in new rental incentives and rents are beginning to show some growth, suggesting the oversupplied condition of the market is abating. With the onset of COVID-19 in March and a dramatic rise in unemployment claims, rent delinquency was a concern; however, this largely appears not to have happened. In a survey of the larger management/ownership groups that operate about 19.4 percent of the total survey units, an abnormal rise in delinquency was not reported.