The reason this story is important because of where the growth is: just west of Minot.
"Everyone" has been counting Minot out as a big player in the Bakken because it seems to be a bit too far east. But there have been hints that "everyone" might be wrong.
The linked story concerns Berthold, a small town 22 miles west of Minot. Everybody in Williston who has driven to Minot knows Berthold; once we got to Berthold, we knew we were almost to our Minot destination.
Here's the story:
Berthold is enjoying its last days as a small, sleepy community as city officials wonder how they are going to cope with a population explosion looming in the immediate future.
Mayor Alan Lee said that Five Stone Development is moving along with plans to place a subdivision just north of the city that in all likelihood will increase Berthold's population by 60 percent immediately.
The initial phase involves about 200 to 300 homes, [a spokesman] said, but it might not end there.
"Ultimately, (the company is) talking 2,200 homes," he said. "Wow. If everything goes right, he's hoping to have between 300 and 600 this year (2012)."I have hear rumors that the Bakken might extend farther east in two small "streams" east of the generally-accepted Bakken.
