03.02.2011

This is the reason why northwest North Dakota and eastern Montana say, "Recession, what recession."

This is the reason why people from Florida move to Williston without having a home in which to live.  They typed "best place to get a job" into Google and Williston was it.

This is the reason why my school can afford to build a new science lab, add a new gym floor, give teachers Flex Benefit Plans, buy new lockers, buy new computers, remodel floors and bathrooms, add a new crows nest to the football field, and remodel the kitchen with state of the art technology.

This is the reason why traffic has increased so much on my little country road that I am sometimes scared to run on it and the reason why the state of North Dakota needs to put millions of dollars in to western North Dakota roads.

This is the reason why the Vancouver Olympics athlete's housing has moved to rural North Dakota for roustabouts and drillers and hands to live.

This is the reason why our school can get four new first graders in one week.

This is the reason why they are building a natural gas plant just seven miles from my house...which, mind you, is in the middle of nowhere.

This is the reason why parents of my school kids don't just have jobs, but good jobs.

This is the reason why they are building so many more wind towers around the rest of North Dakota.

This is the reason why high school boys don't think they need to go to college.

This is the reason that the art teacher in Fairview must live in Williston.  There is no housing available in Fairview.  It is also the reason why the Williston mayor was on the news and asked people not to move here in the winter.  People are living in tents and freezing because they had no idea what a North Dakota winter could be like.

This is the reason why western Montana thinks that oil and gas revenue should be spread around the state.  Do you see eastern Montana asking for tourism dollars or logging money?

Can you think of anything else?  I'm sure there is more.