Grime, grout and GRIT

Sheyenne GRIT, a newly- formed nonprofit community development group, is literally transforming their community one house at a time.

Like many small towns in America, Sheyenne, N.D. is not alone in facing the tough challenge of attracting new residents and growing their community.

Many small, rural towns are hemorrhaging population as they struggle to retain businesses and maintain basic services, and housing is often a particularly difficult problem to tackle.

But the community of Sheyenne is now fighting to reverse that trend, and they're already making a difference.

Fresh on the market in town is a house that's been fully renovated and made "move-in ready," after sitting dormant and overgrown for about two years.

The house, located on the east side of town at 337 Sheyenne Avenue, was purchased by Sheyenne GRIT in July this year.

Since then, using local contractors and thanks to generous volunteer work, the home has undergone a transformation – and it's all possible thanks to the Sheyenne community's united commitment to developing the place they call home.

Their new community development group, Sheyenne GRIT, was formed specifically for that purpose, with GRIT standing for Growth, Renewal, Imagination and Teamwork.

Patti Larson, a resident of Sheyenne and member of Sheyenne GRIT, said the organization's origins only go as far back as last fall, when community meetings were held to discuss the town's priorities and an exciting grant opportunity.

"It's a small town but we have people that care about our community," said Larson. "So we had a couple of community meetings to determine if we applied for this grant what would we do with the money. And our community came up with six areas that we're passionate about."

Number one among those priorities was housing, explained Larson.

"As we looked around there were no houses for sale, so if someone did want to move here, where would they go?" she said.

With that problem in mind, Sheyenne GRIT was founded and they applied for a Creative Community Solutions Grant from Strengthen N.D., and much to their elation, they were one of just five North Dakota organizations to be awarded a healthy chunk of the $1 million available: $150,000 split over two years.

With funding acquired, Sheyenne GRIT – which is run entirely by volunteers – immediately got to work reinvesting that funding into their community.

After purchasing a house they believed could be renovated and resold, they began working with local contractors and volunteers to bring the home much closer to its full potential.

"We used really quality stuff: the better quality paints, the better materials," explained Larson. "And we re-sided the garage, put new doors on the front of the house and the garage, and quite a few people stepped up to take off wallpaper, paint and do some minor repairs.

"We just had so many volunteers help out," she added, "and the other thing is we were able to hire a lot of local contractors."

Larson said Dean Arneson of Sheyenne did the garage exterior, retired plumber Dicky Evenson worked on a new spigot outside and on the bathroom inside, and sister duo Jackie Williams and Dawn Engstrom from New Rockford painted the house exterior.

"So we just really had a lot of nice effort, and in no time it just looked like a whole different place," said Larson.

There's still some work being done on the interior, such as refinishing the hardwood floors, but the house is currently up for sale and they've already been getting calls about the property.

The asking price is $77,000 and they're hoping to show it for the first time during the first week of November.

Those interested are encouraged to contact Larson at (701) 381-8428.

Larson hopes that providing housing in Sheyenne will allow the community to attract more residents, and whatever profits are made from this first project will continue to be reinvested into Sheyenne.

"We believe that if there's a place for people they will come," she said. "And so we're excited about that and hope to sell it and use the money from this house to buy another one."

Sheyenne GRIT's other five priorities include business enhancement/investment, marketing/improving the Sheyenne brand, main street upgrades, Ostby Hall/events and child care/kid activities such as a playground.

Anyone interested in donating or getting involved with Sheyenne GRIT as they begin the work of revitalizing their community is encouraged to reach out to Larson to learn more.