RUSO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota‘s smallest incorporated city was on the verge of dissolving after the death of its longtime mayor, but now it’s rebounding. The Minot Daily News reports the McLean County community of Ruso expects to soon double its population — from two residents to four.
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Ruso was on the verge of disincorporation following 86-year-old Bruce Lorenz’s July death, which dropped its population to two. State law says it takes a minimum of three residents for a community to be incorporated. The city discovered Greg Schmaltz qualifies as a resident because he has a Ruso mailbox and checks on his horses and chickens there daily.
Schmaltz and his wife, Michelle Schmaltz, currently live in Velva but plan to move to Ruso later this year. He’s expected to become mayor Sept. 6.