Essay On The Bakken Boom From The Federal Reserve Bank Of Minneapolis

I haven't read this article yet, but it's going to be a good one. It was sent to me be a regular reader (thank you); it's an essay from The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis regarding the Bakken boom.

When I get time, I will come back to it and pick out some highlights for the archives.

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This, from The Minot Daily News: 

WATFORD CITY - Watford City is in the midst of a complete make-over.
The once quiet community on the edge of the scenic North Dakota Badlands used to welcome visitors to a bit of the old West. Now it is renowned for something else - the epicenter of the Bakken oil boom.

"We are kind of in the eye of the storm now," said Gene Veeder, McKenzie County Tourism and Job Development Authority.

Veeder. Veeder. The name sounds familiar. But I digress.

Rusty old pick-ups coated with a mixture of red scoria and gray dust with a rugged rancher behind the wheel were once common on Watford City's Main Street. Today the pick-ups are almost exclusively newer model "dualies," the trademark method of travel for workers maintaining the furious pace of progress in the Bakken. Unlike a mere year or two ago, the street is almost always crowded with vehicles. Pedestrians braving crosswalks do so with utmost caution.

Other changes are visible, too, in all parts of town. Change has come rapidly to Watford City. New hotels, housing developments, apartments and retail stores continue to be constructed at a break-neck pace. As the race for oil continues, so, too, does the unprecedented growth in the region.

"It feels better here now than it did last year," Veeder said. "A lot of construction is going on but we are kind of turning the corner now. Coming from a town of 1,600 we figure a population of 8,000 to 10,000 is a pretty fair statement. I'm being conservative. Everyone was crashed into a small space here."

And it continues at the linked article. A great piece of journalism.

Last year (2012), I opined that the Bakken action would move to McKenzie County.