Norsk Høstfest is Minot at its most distinctive: a large Scandinavian heritage festival with music, food, crafts, lectures and enough sweaters, flags and lefse to make the city's immigrant history visible for a few days. It is usually held in late September or early October at the state fairgrounds.
If you are only passing through, do not rearrange a whole trip around it unless Nordic-American culture is your thing. But if you are nearby in autumn, it is the one Minot event that feels unlike anywhere else in the state.