Oil Boom Puts Strain On North Dakota Towns

The tough economy has taken its toll on most states, putting budgets deep in the red and putting people out of work.

But North Dakota has a low 3.5 percent unemployment rate and a state budget with a billion dollar surplus. That’s because of a major oil boom in the western part of the state, a discovery of at least 2 billion barrels to be gained by fracking — the controversial process of injecting fluid deep into underground rock formations to force the oil out.

by John McChesney

Full Story: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/02/142695152/oil-boom-puts-strain-on-north-dakota-towns