MOORHEAD (KFGO-AM) - As of midnight, the population of Moorhead grew by about 2,000 as the long planned annexation of Oakport Township into the city became official.
The change has been in the works for more than two decades. The annexation of the rural housing area just north of Moorhead was agreed to by Moorhead and Oakport in 1990. Former township board chairman and retired Moorhead police officer Greg Anderson says it was definately a "process" but made sense for the people living there.
He says there were some pushback as people were caught off-guard. However, he says Moorhead city leaders stepped forward with lots of information and discussion.
Local historians say Oakport Township received its name because it was a stop for steam boats using the Red River between Moorhead and Winnipeg in the late 1800's. Steamboat captains would stop to take on oak wood offered by a local farmer who lived in what is now Oakport Township. The stop became known as the oak port.