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By Darrell Dorgan / November 25, 2012 / Bismarck News, News, Top Stories / 1 Comment
CNN ran a story last year saying strippers were making $3,000 a night in tips in western North Dakota. Watford City Police Chief Slade Herfindahl said after the story ran, “We were overrun with women from across the country looking to make a buck, and they weren’t just interested in dancing.” No one really remembers […]
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By Christi Stonecipher / October 10, 2012 / News, State Politics, Top Stories / No Comments
The fight over water rights in North Dakota may be headed to court as state and tribal leaders battle the federal government for control of surplus water in the Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea. It’s an age-old conflict, but the stakes have risen considerably since the oil boom began. Gone is the era when availability […]
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By Andrea Domaskin / September 19, 2012 / Business, News, Top Stories / 2 Comments
Before western North Dakota’s oil boom hit Watford City and surrounding McKenzie County, the local hospital’s longtime physician treated about 15 patients per month at the hospital emergency room after hours. Everyone else went to the clinic during the day. Now, Dr. Gary Ramage said, the emergency room is used at all hours, and 466 […]
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By Matt Bunk / August 29, 2012 / Business, News, People, Top Stories / 2 Comments
Ask Frank Bavendick how much money he’s making from oil production in western North Dakota, and he’ll tell you a story about Texas mining barons Nelson and William Hunt. The way Bavendick tells it, the Hunt brothers tried to corner the world’s supply of silver back in the 1970s and were summoned by a congressional […]
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By Harold Hamm / August 16, 2012 / Guest Op-Eds, Opinion / No Comments
A lot of good news has been coming out of North Dakota recently. Most notably, the Bakken oil field has helped North Dakota buck the national economic slump by creating new jobs and tax revenues. Thanks to the Bakken, North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate and fastest growing economy in the nation. As the […]
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By Matt Bunk / July 23, 2012 / Matt Bunk's Column, Opinion, Uncategorized / 15 Comments
About five months ago, as western North Dakota was aching under the pressure of the oil boom, a well-connected Republican told me that Gov. Jack Dalrymple was planning to wait a few months before announcing a major investment of state money into things like new roads and public safety programs in the oil patch. Waiting […]
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By Shawn McKenna / May 13, 2012 / Bismarck News, Business, News, Top Stories / No Comments
Not long ago, it looked like Bismarck’s investment in the Northern Plains Commerce Centre had gone bad. Industrial development had stalled after the city pumped millions of dollars into the property, and its only large tenant, Bobcat, appeared to be leaving town. But the outlook has changed rapidly during the past couple of months. Bobcat […]
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By Mike Albrecht / April 23, 2012 / News, State Politics, Top Stories / 1 Comment
A $150 million water pipeline project that will bring clean drinking water to western North Dakota has surged forward despite a flood of concerns from independent water suppliers. The Western Area Water Supply Project hopes to provide drinking water for an estimated 48,000 people in oil country while shuffling a majority of its costs to […]
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By Christi Stonecipher / April 19, 2012 / News, State Politics, Top Stories / No Comments
Watford City High School Principal Jay Diede points them out as he walks down the hallways bustling with students: “She’s new, he’s new, new, new, he’s new.” The new students are hard to distinguish from their native counterparts as they joke and mingle during their lunch break, but their increasing presence has the McKenzie County […]
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By Ryan Taylor / January 30, 2012 / Guest Op-Eds, Opinion / 2 Comments
North Dakotans are strong people, not often prone to uttering discouraging words, but one can tell when that strength is tested. Last week, as a member of the interim energy development committee, I heard phrases like ‘we are in crisis,’ ‘we need help,’ ‘our quality of life is gone,’ and ‘I am heartbroken’ from sincere, […]
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