Black Gold Boom

Series produced by 2 below zero

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Portraits of oil workers, local residents and stories about the North Dakota oil boom, 2012-2013.

Portraits of oil workers, local residents and stories about the North Dakota oil boom, 2012-2013. Airing on Prairie Public Radio, the statewide public radio network for North Dakota.

This series is produced by independent producer Todd Melby and brought to you by Praire Public and Localore, a national initiative produced by AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, Incorporated, and with financial support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Wyncote Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and The Spence Law Firm.


16 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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A visit to the Williston Basin Blowout, a night of mixed martial arts fights in Williston, North Dakota. For 30 bucks, attendees witnessed 10 fight...

  • Added: May 16, 2013
  • Length: 01:59
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When Nathina St. Pierre moved to Watford City, North Dakota, she received lots of attention from men. “It was flattering at first,” she said. But i...

  • Added: May 16, 2013
  • Length: 04:37
Caption: Ben Audet and his carp., Credit: Ben Garvin
Ben Audet is an oilfield hand who prefers bow fishing to video games.

  • Added: Sep 09, 2012
  • Length: 04:22
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To make it in the Bakken boom, North Dakota newcomers need to work hard and make sacrifices. But what exactly are those sacrifices? Black Gold Boom...

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Sep 09, 2012
  • Length: 05:56
  • Purchases: 1
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They arrive in oil country by train, bus and automobile looking for work. Or if they're like Robby Reid, they shove everything they own into a back...

  • Added: Aug 03, 2012
  • Length: 03:09
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Bryan Johnson lives in Spearfish, South Dakota, and sells fire-retardant clothes to oil workers in Watford City, North Dakota. Before moving to Spe...

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Jul 25, 2012
  • Length: 02:21
  • Purchases: 1
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While other boys were working on paper routes or not at all, Richard Karpe labored on drilling rigs. Today, he supervises a truck operation near Wa...

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Jul 22, 2012
  • Length: 02:33
  • Purchases: 1
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Bobcat John is a 57-year-old man from Idaho who came to the oil patch with his pickup truck and a trailer full of knives. His mission: Sell knives ...

  • Added: Jul 19, 2012
  • Length: 02:19
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Jayce Mitchell and Logan Bice moved to North Dakota to clean oil tankers. The pair were practicing their roping skills on a dummy steer, a plastic ...

  • Added: Jul 19, 2012
  • Length: 01:50
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James Goeres sells pickup truck stickers from a mobile home. His motto: "Tattoo Your Ride, Not Your Hide."

  • Added: Jul 19, 2012
  • Length: 03:31
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Shane Osborne arrived in North Dakota looking for work. He found it. But housing in the oil patch is so expensive he's living in a trailer.

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Jul 16, 2012
  • Length: 01:55
  • Purchases: 1
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Roughnecks, truckers and entrepreneurs of every stripe are cashing in on North Dakota’s oil boom. So is an industrial giant from the 19th century: ...

  • Added: Jul 16, 2012
  • Length: 03:24
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North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. And the nation knows it. People are flocking to the Peace Garden state for jobs in the...

  • Added: Jul 16, 2012
  • Length: 05:45
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Rough­necks and other oil field work­ers make big money. But that money doesn’t come with­out sac­ri­fice. Many work­ers are sep­a­rated from fam­i...

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Jul 16, 2012
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 1
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Western North Dakota’s oil rush has meant big money for roughnecks and truckers. But it’s also meant big headaches for local residents.

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Jul 16, 2012
  • Length: 06:02
  • Purchases: 1
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In the oil patch of western North Dakota, there aren’t many restaurants. So when truck drivers, construction crews and oil hands get hungry, they o...

Bought by KFAI


  • Added: Jul 16, 2012
  • Length: 02:22
  • Purchases: 1