An unprecedented oil boom has struck a remote Indian Reservation in West Central North Dakota. During the past year, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation has seen investment into oil well drilling that is unlike anything seen in the US. The oil drilling can now provide jobs for anyone on the reservation who wants one. The Fort Berthold Reservation Authority hopes to put money from tax revenue of the oil drilling to fund health care, infrastructure improvements and more. From this Associated Press article that we found at NPR, we read more about the oil boom."There is probably more opportunity here than people have had in their lifetimes," said Marcus Levings, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Roads are now sometimes clogged with traffic, including Hummers and expensive pickup...
With many unfilled oil jobs in North Dakota, people are arriving to try to fill the openings. For those who don't do the research on housing and the job requirements, it could make them homeless for a while. This adds to the homeless population already in the state, where few shelters exist especially in it's many rural areas.From CBS News, this Associated Press story highlights the problem. Many of the job seekers came to North Dakota without researching jobs or housing, said Louis "Mac" McLeod, executive director of the Minot Area Homeless Coalition. They arrive to find they are unqualified for the work that exists, or if they land a job, they can't get housing, which is scarce."If you got a roof over your head, stay there," McLeod advised. "We want people to come to North Dakota, but...
from The Bismarck TribuneMany North Dakota graduate students are unemployed or working only part time, county social services officials say.Figures from the 2000 census show 10 percent of North Dakotans living in poverty have a college degree.The figures are part of a trend over the past two decades, state Data Center Director Richard Rathge says. The figure was 9.1 percent in 1980 and 9.6 percent in 1990.The federal government defines poverty according to income level and family size - currently $9,800 for one person, or $20,000 for a family of four.The proportion of college graduates living in poverty is especially high in Grand Forks and Cass counties, which are home to the state's largest universities.In Grand Forks County in 2000, 21.6 percent of those in poverty had a bachelor's...