K9 Officer Brent Musich and K9 Zeke visited Night to United gatherings in 2024. Photos/Moorhead Police Department.
Children explored fire trucks with Moorhead fire fighters on Meadows Lane in 2024.
Sixty-four neighborhoods hosted Night to Unite gatherings on National Night Out in 2024.
Neighbors gathered in the Moonlite Addition on 2024’s Night to Unite.
Night to Unite has been a highlight of local summers for almost 25 years. Launched in the spirit of National Night Out, a tradition that goes back to 1970, the local celebration – part of Minnesota’s largest crime-prevention event of the year – is typically hosted by neighbors in their yards or nearby parks. Some gatherings, like the one on 30th Street, feature grilled hot dogs and hotdish or salad. Others are more elaborate potlucks or feature dessert and bingo. The menu matters not. Instead, the gatherings are an occasion to build relationships among those who live in the area. Leann points out, “Everyone benefits when neighbors know each other. The connections that are made and strengthened through Night to Unite carry far beyond this evening. Close-knit neighborhoods are safe neighborhoods.”
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
Neighbors will gather in dozens of Moorhead neighborhoods Tuesday, Aug. 5, for at least the 25th time in the city’s history.
The occasion is Night to Unite, the local version of nationwide Night to Unite. While Moorhead’s observance dates back at least 25 years, the national occasion was established 41 years ago. That first event involved 2.5 million neighbors across 400 communities in 23 states. Last year, according to the National Night Out organization. Tens of millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide.
Here in Moorhead, 64 picnics and gatherings were hosted in 2024. The city record was set in 1987, when 87 occurred. Since then, it’s been a process of rebuilding. MPD community services coordinator Leighanna Secord reported that 61 hosts – including 12 first-timers – had already registered eight days before the neighborly night, expecting to exceed last year’s total of 64.
“It’s an opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other better,” she explained about the MPD-sponsored evening. “When we know each other better, that creates a safer community.”
Night to Unite is an opportunity not only to meet the folks who live down the street, but also to mingle with MPD officers, fire fighters and members of the city council. Representatives visit the gatherings … often capturing the imagination of the youngsters next door, offering them a glimpse of a patrol car or fire truck and a chance to meet uniformed first responders. “Our goal is to build relationships,” Leighanna points out.
At 11 Tuesday morning, members of the Moorhead Police Department and Clay County Sheriff’s Department, as well as other law enforcement agencies in Clay and Cass counties, will gather for the 20th annual prelude to the neighborhood gatherings – the annual Chiefs and Sheriffs Cook-Offs. The grilling – of hamburgers, not suspects – begins at 11 a.m. at the Law Enforcement Center. Besides the Moorhead police and Clay County sheriff’s staff, participants include the Cass County sheriff and police from Barnesville, Glyndon, Hawley, Fargo and West Fargo.
Judging begins at 11:45 by representatives from WDAY-AM, The Flag and Froggy 99.9 Radio. It’s followed at noon by a free burger lunch. Last year’s victor was Chief Justin Vogel of the Glyndon Police Department.
