Members of the Wu and Viloria families got curious and stopped by Valley City on their way from Chicago to Glacier National Park.
(Steve Browne/VCTR)

By Steve Browne
Valley City Times-Record

It's hard to tell from the guest book alone, but it looks like Valley City has had an increase in visitors from out of state and foreign countries lately.
At the last meeting of the Valley City Commission, July 21, Mayor Mary Lee Nielson  told the commission there appeared to have been slightly fewer visitors to Valley City, but a proportionately greater number of visitors from other states and other countries.
Dean Ilha, executive vice-president of the Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce, says it's hard to tell. Ilha thinks it may just be there are fewer signatures in the guest book from locals, because locals don't sign the book as much anymore. And, said Ilha, if they come in a group, not everybody in the group bothers to sign.
Ilha said this July alone there were at least 400 signatures from 36 American states and Norway, Wales, Germany, France and Italy.
That may not be the whole picture either. The Wu and Viloria families from Tinley Park, Ill., just outside of Chicago, came to the Rosebud Visitor's Center on Monday and didn't sign the book.
Chi Ming Wu, originally from Thailand, said their family was on their way to Glacier National Park and stopped in Valley City because  they saw the Rosebud Visitor's Center sign on the highway.

For full story, see Tuesday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record.