My little state is changing.

[Bwana]

From an article in the Wall Street Journal of the top 10 states with the fastest growing economy:

No. 1: North Dakota
GDP growth: 13.4%
Real 2012 GDP: $38.7 billion (5th smallest)
1-year population change: 2.17% (the highest)
1-year employment growth: 3.02% (the highest)
For the third consecutive year, North Dakota had the fastest economic growth of any state in the country. It also led the nation in both total population and employment growth last year. Much of this was due to the state's oil boom; North Dakota is now the second-largest oil producer of all 50 states, after Texas.
Last year, the mining sector contributed almost 3.3 percentage points to the state's impressive 13.4% GDP growth. The agriculture, construction, wholesale trade and transportation and warehousing industries also added more to GDP in North Dakota than in any other state. North Dakota's unemployment rate has been below 4% -- the lowest in the United States -- for each of the past three full years, due to its thriving resource economy.

Said with sarcasm: Yea, more people coming to our little state.

[Arty]

Ssssshhhh!!! Don't tell anyone!
Keep it a secret as long as you can!

[Niner]

I have kin folks in Minot. They say their sleepy little town is not so sleepy any more.

[yellowk9]

You know the flip side to a "boom" is a "bust". With things like oil and gas it is inevitable. It may be 20 years from now, but eventually you'll end up with a lot of infrastructure (housing, businesses, etc.) with no roughnecks to support it. Enjoy it while it lasts. It sounds like you'd rather the folks never knew ND existed. I'm with you there. We've already seen the gas boom in Arkansas level off. I have a buddy that works for a local well service company and he already is having to move to PA in order to keep his job. Lots of houses, bass boats, four wheelers, etc., have been bought here recently by people with little education making close to six figures or better for low-skill jobs. When our gas boom goes bust there will be a lot of foreclosures and repos on the market. Nature of the beast I guess.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I always liked driving through eastern Nodak on my way up to Canada every year. We've since changed our route and go up via Int'l Falls through Minnesota now and I miss seeing the country up in the two Dakotas. Glad to hear y'all are on an up cycle with your economy. As pointed out by Old Yeller the down cycles in an energy economy are tough ones. Of course, we know about that here in Okieland too.

BKB

[Bwana]

We know all about the "bust" part of this thing as it has happened here before, but given that ND has moved from WAY down on the oil production totem pole to number 2 behind Texas it will be magnitudes bigger next time.

Posthole, as for seeing ND you wouldn't believe how much different the rest of the state is from the Red River Valley.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I just finished a chapter in a book I'm reading about Medora, ND, which is (I think) where you and your family go visit every year in the Roosevelt Nat'l Park. The writer was telling the stories of Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese Cross Ranch and his time there as well as the Marquis de Mores and what he attempted to do there too, at least until mother nature kicked all their butts. Pretty interesting stuff.
And the Laurentian divide there in the Dakotas was always a major milestone on that long drive up there.

BKB

[Thumper]

I spent quite a bit of time up there while driving my truck. I'd often pick up a load in Minot and head for Canada, usually crossing at Portal/North Portal.