Mandan Prepares For Patriotic Competition | Video

Kristin Clouston | 6/22/2012

Mandan is known for its hometown 4th of July celebration, which is probably why it is in the running for the Most Patriotic Town in the USA.

Mandan beat out more than 650 other towns to be a finalist in the USA Today-Rand McNally Most Patriotic Town competition. Judges and TV crews from the Travel Channel will be visiting Mandan in a couple of weeks, and people are already starting to decorate downtown in anticipation of their arrival.

"We`re happy that they`ll be here sometime on the 4th of July, of course, but that`s an optimistic assumption. They`ll probably be here some time of July 6th or 7th and there will be some kind of event that we haven`t announced yet the evening of July 6th in cooperation with their arrival," said Marlo Anderson with the Mandan Independence Day Celebration.

Six cities are in the running for Most Patriotic City. The winner will be announced on July 15th.

Mayor-Elect Arlan Van Beek is encouraging residents to hang yellow ribbons and decorate in red, white and blue.

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