N.D. town gets $75,000 from Iceland for project

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A small North Dakota town is getting a bit of foreign aid to help build its community center: a $75,000 donation from Iceland.

Officials in Mountain, a northeastern North Dakota community with a rich Icelandic heritage, told Iceland Prime Minister Geir Haarde about the $1.3 million community center project when he came to the town last year for the 108th annual August the Deuce Icelandic Celebration, which commemorates the beginning of Iceland's journey to independence from Denmark.

"We recognize the necessity of this project and the commitment of those who are involved ... and we feel that it is important for us to assist them in their efforts," Haarde said in a statement.