Local Money: The controversy over North Dakota ‘man camps’
No one knows your neighborhood better than you do, which is why we started our Local Money project. We want to hear about the big money story that’s happening in your city. Submit our next topic here:
This week, we head to Williston, North Dakota. For several years, workers, often men, were flocking to North Dakota to work in the oil and gas industry during the shale boom.
The state’s unemployment rate is still very low at 2.9 percent, but now that oil prices have fallen, many workers are moving on and leaving behind so-called “man camps” or temporary housing.
In the city of Willston, the city has ordered the crew camps to close, hoping that employees will instead move into vacant apartments and hotels.
Bill Carraher, University of North Dakota professor, studies the homes as part of the North Dakota Man Camp Project and joins the show to explain.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
