Liechty gives $100,000 each to Jamestown police, fire departments

Clarice Liechty gave $100,000 each to Jamestown’s police and fire departments, and the City Council responded Monday, July 6, with a unanimous resolution thanking her for the latest round of public-safety gifts.

Fire Chief Jim Reuther said the money does not go into the city’s general fund. Instead, it goes into the city’s self-clearing fund, which lets the departments address needs outside the regular tax-supported operating budget, including equipment, training, vehicle needs, safety gear and other priorities.

The Jamestown Fire Department already received $185,000 from Liechty in 2025, and that donation was designated for new turnout gear and for equipment to care for it. That earlier gift was the largest citizen donation in Jamestown Fire Department history. The new $100,000 gift gives the department another flexible infusion of cash without drawing from local tax dollars.

Police Chief Scott Edinger said the latest donation was unsolicited. The police department had already received a separate $100,000 gift from Liechty, made on her 85th birthday and routed through the North Dakota Fraternal Order of Police. With the new donation, Liechty has now given $285,000 to Jamestown’s police and fire departments over two years.

Liechty said she made the donations because the departments matter to the city and because she believed the leadership could use the money well.

Liechty Homes was established in 1955 and operates a sales lot at 501 17th St. SW. Reuben E. Liechty, Clarice Liechty’s late husband, died Nov. 30, 2021, at age 86.