Western North Dakota Issues -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

CarpeDiem.com has posted the "Western North Dakota Issues" list which went viral on Facebook a few days ago. I have been sent copies of that list by numerous readers but chose not to print it.

It was a list of "numerators," but no "denominators."

The big denominator is this: $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion is being pushed into eight counties in North Dakota. 

The story is not that there are stories about problems in the oil patch, the story is that there are few stories about the problems.

Drugs? With $2 billion/month going into a rural state known for a meth crisis, who wouldn't expect stories on drug busts. The big story is that there are so few stories in the regional press about drug busts. The last one was several weeks (months?) ago about two idiots trying to break into a Williston pharmacy. Man-camps have zero tolerance policies, and if one loses housing in a man-camp, there are few alternatives. The oil companies and the trucking companies are not going to lose their golden geese to druggies. Everyone is getting drug tested. If positive, no job. No job, no money. No place to live. The winter keeps the riff-raff out. [Of course, that will change, if the city of Williston turns one of the largest facilities in region into a homeless shelter.]

Traffic fatalities? Hello, folks. Western Dakota is now one huge industrial park. If there were a 10 trucks/day on a local stretch of highway, there are now a thousand. And, yet, even with all that very, very dangerous 18-wheel traffic, one can go weeks without reading about a traffic fatality in the Bakken oil patch.

The Wal-Mart pallet story. "They" write that the Wal-Mart in Williston doesn't stock shelves any more. Hogwash. The shelves are well-stocked; the store is extremely well managed. The floor is a mess due to snow, mud, water, but that's true in every Williston store every year. But yes, Wal-Mart brings pallets of merchandise out to the aisles and folks empty those pallets before they can be stocked. What surprises me is how fast Wal-Mart, Home of Economy, have adapted to stocking merchandise so quickly. Wal-Mart brings it out front because their storage area is full; it makes more sense to bypass the storage room and bring it right out front. A paradigm shift. There would be screaming headlines if supplies weren't getting to Williston. Menard's is afraid to move to Williston; Wal-Mart took the challenge head-on.

I honestly do not remember any of the other bullets.

The list was from a PowerPoint presentation that was "designed" to catch the attention of law enforcement agencies.

But as noted, the story is not with what was said, but what was not said.

Oh, by the way, I am very, very impressed how well the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are staying on top of these challenges.

Oh, it just came to me. I don't recall if the the data point about prostitution was included in the western Dakota issues, but it hardly interests me. The law enforcement agencies will take care of these problems. And with no room at the inn, the whole profession is challenging to say the least. Not a lot of activity in the city parks during the winter.