Jamestown mini golf project advances with contractor, city approval

Jamestown moved Bison Bend Mini Golf out of the planning stage and into construction planning when the city council approved the project at Frontier Village on June 23, clearing Kepida Contracting, LLC, to build the course on city-owned property for $846,828.30. The vote was 5-0 after Council Member Phillips moved the resolution, giving the project a formal green light after Jamestown Frontier Attractions had already selected the contractor.

The project is budgeted at $850,000 and is being helped by a $212,500 Destination Development Grant from the North Dakota Department of Commerce. Even with that state money in hand, Jamestown Frontier Attractions is still seeking additional funding through grants, sponsorships, and local donations, and sponsorship opportunities remain available through the nonprofit. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2026, with a target opening date of June 1, 2027.

Bison Bend is planned as an 18-hole course at Frontier Village, with each hole set to highlight a local story, landmark, or piece of North Dakota history. Organizers say the course is intended to be tournament-ready, a sign that the attraction is being pitched as more than a novelty stop for passing visitors. The timing of the contractor selection and council vote suggests the project has reached the point where financing, site work, and build management now matter as much as the concept itself.

The location matters. Frontier Village already sits inside Jamestown’s tourism corridor, next to the North American Bison Discovery Center and the World’s Largest Buffalo. Frontier Village is free to enter and is maintained through donations, with a suggested donation of $5 per vehicle, making it one of the city’s most recognizable low-cost visitor stops. Putting a mini golf course there ties the new attraction directly to a site that already blends local history, family recreation, and roadside traffic.

The state grant also places Jamestown’s project inside a larger competition for tourism dollars. In the 2025 cycle, the North Dakota Department of Commerce awarded $15 million in Destination Development Grants to 23 projects across the state from 106 applications in 50 communities, with proposed projects totaling $153.2 million. Jamestown’s course was one of the winners, adding another public investment to a site already built around the bison theme and the city’s tourism identity.