It seems to this observer that local leadership in the Williston area, central to North Dakota’s oil patch, has a bias against certain types of businesses. Specifically mobile, temporary businesses. Last week I wrote about Williams County cracking down on so-called “man camps” which are dormitories run by private businesses giving oil workers somewhere to…
Oil Patch County Boots Man Camps, Ensures That Rents Stay Higher For Longer
Not so long ago North Dakota, specifically North Dakota’s oil patch communities, were making national headlines about having some of the highest rents in the nation. The reason why was simple. The oil boom brought a lot of people to small western North Dakota towns that didn’t have a lot of available housing. High demand,…
LegitSlater: Go Vote
Tomorrow is an important day in North Dakota, although many may not know; or if they do, care. Tomorrow is the primary election day in the state, and while granted the partisan party races are pretty much decided by default, many other important decisions are being made on both a statewide and local basis. The…
Oil Patch Continues To Trump Population Numbers In North Dakota Sales Tax Collections
The annual sales tax report is out from Commissioner Cory Fong’s office (see below), and it’s got some pretty interesting numbers. Overall, in 2012 the State of North Dakota saw taxable sales grow an astonishing 28.7%, an increase of more than $5 billion from $25.29 billion to $19.6 billion. What’s interesting is that most of…
ND Crash Rates Are Lower In Oil-Producing Counties
Yesterday Watford City Mayor Brent Sanford pinned the traffic deaths of two teenagers in his community on the state government, claiming state leaders aren’t sufficiently funding infrastructure in the oil patch. “It makes me sick to think of children dying on our roads,” Brent Sanford told The Bismarck Tribune. “It’s a nightmare.” “We’ve got two-lane…