“The population boom in Williston, N.D., has been a blessing and a curse for many local businesses. Williston, the fastest growing small city in America, is enjoying an oil boom and has seen its population double in the past two years. (more…)

“The city of Williston has announced plans to annex 4,800 acres north of the city.

“City officials say the annexation is needed to keep pace with the region’s oil boom.

“The city currently occupies about 8,100 acres or about 12.6 square miles. That’s up from about seven square miles in 2006. The so-called ‘North Annexation’ would enlarge the city to more than 20 square miles,” via Forum of Fargo Moorhead.

While today marks the end of the Mayan calendar, not the end of the world, some schools are taking extra security precautions and one North Dakota school district scrapped classes all together reports the Grand Forks Herald.

Minot Public Schools cancelled classes Friday because of growing rumors about the Mayan calendar’s supposed prediction that the world will end and concerns for student safety.

(more…)

“Through a throng of jubilant supporters, someone called out what most of the room was thinking: ‘Senator Heitkamp!’

“Heidi Heitkamp, hoarse from the final days of her campaign but jubilant herself, said the credit lay with the people cheering her on.

“‘To the extent people are calling this historic, to the extent people are calling this an upset, pat yourselves on the back,’ she told a packed crowd at Fargo’s Teamsters Hall this morning,” via Forum of Fargo Moorhead.

“An Enbridge Pipelines proposal would transport Bakken crude from northwest North Dakota to Superior, Wis., expanding export capacity and increasing market opportunities.

“Enbridge is in the early planning stages for the Sandpiper Pipeline, which could transport about 225,000 barrels per day, said Katie Haarsager, community relations adviser for Enbridge.

“‘If it’s approved, the earliest it could go into service is late 2015 or early 2016.

“’It’s still pretty high level in the development stage,’ Haarsager said,” via Forum of Fargo Moorhead.

“Both Democrats and Republicans are busy preparing to wake up Wednesday having to wage legal fights in both North Dakota and Montana, which share small electorates and very close Senate races. North Dakota has the prospect of being a much more open-ended mess if lawyers for candidates Rick Berg and Heidi Heitkamp start challenging the eligibility of those who cast ballots: The state is the only one with no voter registration,” via Slate.

North Dakota sunset by Ross Perkins

“A federal judge accepted some arguments by North Dakota and some by Minnesota in a lawsuit over the future of new coal power plants and cross-border electricity sales.

via Star Tribune.