The Lewis and Clark Riverboat became an icon on the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan from the day it arrived in town a decade and a half ago. It stays that today, showing up on the cover of phone books, tourism guides and in the local news. It hosts visitors from all over the world.

Fort Abraham Lincoln has been an area icon much longer, really since its establishment in 1872. Visitors have been coming to the site of the current state park even longer, of course. The Mandan’s On-a-Slant Village welcomed guests before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Fort Lincoln also gets its share of local attention and world-wide visitation.

The two icons just might be merging under one management, so to speak, this spring. The Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation is attempting to buy the Lewis and Clark Riverboat.

Last fall, the Missouri Riverboat, Inc., President, Darrell Dorgan, let the Foundation know that the boat was up for sale. Dorgan said he wanted to see it stay in Bismarck-Mandan and wondered if the Foundation would make an offer.

We didn’t right away. It’s not the Foundation’s role to compete with the for-profit private sector. If someone else wanted to take over the successful business, so much the better for everyone concerned. But the Foundation’s Board of Directors agreed that the boat was important to keep in Bismarck-Mandan, and eventually, negotiations began leading to a purchase agreement. The agreement had a condition, however.

As the Foundation lacks cash resources to invest in a business expansion, it would be required to borrow the entire purchase price. That makes it a not very bankable loan. Payments on principle and interest would reduce profitability. The agreement was made contingent on obtaining a grant or interest-rate buy-down to effect the purchase.

Fortunately, a state program exists that can resolve the situation. Through Flex-PACE cities can access up to $250,000 “use it or lose it” per biennium to buy interest rates down for business expansions or other worthwhile community projects. The Bank of North Dakota takes 50% participation in the loan along with a local lead bank or banks. The city provides a match of about one dollar for every two of state money.

In the case of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation business expansion of buying the Lewis and Clark, the state share would be $150,000 and the city share $73,000. The Foundation has promised to pay the city back for its share by helping to finance city improvement projects around the Depot and Dykshoorn Park for the next decade. The City of Bismarck assists in the operation of the boat through a favorable lease of the Port of Bismarck, worth up to $244,000 over nine years. The City approved transfer of the lease to the Foundation two months ago.

The Mandan Growth Fund approved the Foundation’s application on Thursday, March 6. It was forwarded to the City Commission, which voted 4-1 for approval on March 18.

The Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation intends to keep running the schedule with the same pilots for the season, but it also plans to add its well-regarded living history touch to the boat. Guests will often get to see riverboat legends like Far West Captain Grant Marsh, who could “pilot a steamboat on a sea of dew.” The Foundation is determined to bring the boat back to Fort Lincoln soon, which will require a battle with sandbars and currents. Grant Marsh might just be necessary.