Running on Fumes in North Dakota’

Since around 2006, North Dakota’s oil boom has been a beacon for recession-ravaged Americans. The oil towns in the western part of the state are a land of possibility and opportunity, a "Kuwait on the prairie," where the American Dream is alive and well in the rural heartland. Or at least that’s the sales pitch that has lured thousands of job seekers.

By LEWIS WILCOX, JAMES CHRISTENSON, ELIOT POPKO and JONAH SARGENT

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/opinion/running-on-fumes-in-north-dakota.html?hp&_r=0