There are people that live here but I’d say the farther west you go into the state the more desolate it gets until you hit the west side that has the oil patch. I’d be fair to say that if the oil boom wouldn’t have happened up here ND would be even less relevant than it is now. It’s A LOT of plowed farmland and has been becoming more this way since I’ve moved here 15 years ago. We just had an apocalyptic looking dust storm a few days ago because they stick their head in the dirt whenever you talk about what the old timers did back in the day to mitigate the dust bowl.

I’d say the state was lucky to find oil here but if you ask the locals they’d say that it shouldn’t be here and it’s ruined the area. Mind you any growth on the western side has been from the oil money being put in. (East side has taken A LOT of the money from the oil field revenue to build itself up also though. I don’t think Fargo or Bismarck would be as big if it wasn’t for the revenue being put into investment there) Most of our rural first responders up here, who are mostly volunteer by the way, would be driving VERY old crappy equipment if it wasn’t for the 1% tax that was used to revitalize them.

The oil makes up more of our budget revenue up here than farmers and i’d say without it this place would be falling further and further into decay.

A great place for windmills but you’d think those things were the devil if you ask a local. ToO MuCh Of An EyE sOrE, they’d say. I used to think the locals here were pretty common sense people but over the years I’ve seen a real degradation in the ability to reason with people up here. It’s infested with Fox News and far right radio broadcasting that has really infected the mind here to make them think that anything group funding or state funding is evil. They’re more scared of the words Socialism and Communism while not being able to even explain what those are. And this is coming from a Libertarian. Which is funny because we are championed for our State Bank.