WSJ By-Line, Williston, ND

Front-section WSJ: Oil Boomtown Williston, ND, Looks for a Stable Future. 

This oil boomtown, known for its brawling roughnecks and their spare living conditions, is starting to smooth off its rough edges.

But not all of them. Muddy pickup trucks still jam the streets, but they drive past recent additions to town, including more than a dozen new restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings. Subdivisions are springing up along the hills and a $73 million recreation center opened last weekend.

Actually, having just visited the Bakken, muddy 18-wheelers jam the by-pass. Willistonites probably wish it were only muddy pickup trucks jamming the streets. But the restaurant problem/shortage is a thing of the past. And coffee shops with free wi-fi are easy to find.

Enjoy.