Rock Center
By Ronnie Polidoro
Rock Center
Last week’s story about the oil boom in Williston, N.D., led to a surge of phone calls, e-mails, job applications, and even some hires.
Matt Grimshaw, the CEO of Mercy Medical Center, says the response was incredible: within minutes of the broadcast, the medical center’s job website began receiving a higher volume of applications.
“In a normal week we would have 100 applicants, in the past week we have had 800 submitted applications.” Grimshaw told NBC News.
Since last Monday, Mercy Medical Center has conducted 40 phone interviews with candidates from all over the country and has hired six applicants who applied after learning about Rock Center’s report.
According to Holly Sand, a public information specialist for Job Service North Dakota, a state run job listing website, traffic on the site nearly doubled from 16,684 visits on Monday, October 31 to 28,163 visits the day after the story aired.
“I think it’s safe to say Job Service saw a spike following the show,” said Sand.
The Williston Public School District has also seen a rapid increase of phone calls from jobseekers since the story aired. The district has three teaching positions open – a family consumer science teacher, a high school math teacher, and an auto-mechanics teacher – but Superintendent Dr. Viola LaFontaine anticipates that it will need even more teachers next school year.
Williston’s Mayor Ward Koeser told NBC News, “Although we have thousands of jobs available, we have no place for the job seekers to live at this time.” Local hotels are booked through January and there are few housing units available at this time. Mayor Koeser urged, “People need to have a place to stay before coming!”
Especially, warn locals, because winter is coming. Just this weekend, Williston had its first dusting of snow and last year, the town set a snow fall record at 107 inches.
Editor's note: Click here for our list of 'Five Key Tips for Job Search Success' in Williston, N.D.
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There is NO housing available here.
They would have had more applications if Rock Center wasn't on the same time Dancing with the Idiots was on!
There is NO housing here in Williston
I can't believe how irresponsible the segment with Harry was. He explains, "You just drill down and there's a little bit of chemicals with a little bit of water." Did any of your researchers check out what is happening in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado where people's wells are being poisoned and flames come out of water faucets. Obviously not. Oil companies are refusing to say which chemicals they use in the fracking process. People who have contracted cancer becasue of the pollution to their water systems can't get proper treatment. Have any of yoru researchers bothered to figure out the traffic load in and out of these areas - the wear and tear on the road system is beyond sustainable and the oil companeis don't pay for the infrastructire and the states can' afford to cover it. What about another segment focusign on the down side. Just offering a few jobs is hardly the whole picture.
The explanation of Hydrofracking was simplistic and given by someone who has much to gain by the process. The people who live in communities that are presently affected by "fracking" have many questions about the chemicals being used and what will happen to the quality of their drinking water. Certainly a thirty second explanation is an insult to the seriousness of the topic. I am shocked by the cavalier reporting by Brian Williams on this very complicated issue. Mr. Williams actually grew up in Elmira, New York, which is itself on the brink of a similar "goldrush" of drilling for natural gas where hydrofracking will be used. He should try googling "hydrofracking" and do some research before he touts it's benefits.
IRRESPONSIBLE is correct! I was SURE that Harry's update and Brian's updated commentary about "fracking" in Williston would mention the HIGH CORRELATION of fracking fluids and EARTHQUAKES!! (Yes studies have been done.) Have Williams and Smith watched the news lately?? We, in Oklahoma, have been shaking for 4 days now.. We experienced a 5.6 earthquake 2 days ago, which was followed up by another 4.7 today.
I'm 32 and have lived in Oklahoma my entire life. I have never felt an earthquake until this past year, in which I've felt the earth move at LEAST 7 times. Is it a coincidence that these quakes started to happen since fracking came on to the scene? I dont think so. Just look at the buildings that make up the Oklahoma City metro skyline.. they've been dwarfed by the giant Devon Energy building going up! With oil companies pumping a billion dollars a year into our state's coffers, I have a feeling we will be fighting an uphill battle.
How NAIVE of me to believe we could have an ally in the news show that I so looked forward to!! (When might we expect to see KOPPEL anyway??)
Hear, hear! I was pleased when Mr Williams pointed out that fracking is a controversial topic and asked about the impact it may have in ND...and the correspondent gave such a non-answer that I wished Mr Williams had pressed him MUCH more. Why was this issue not brought out more? If it was due to time constraints, honestly, I like Tina Fey but could five minutes have not been taken from her fluff piece at the end to devote to THIS instead? The correspondent's blase' "eh, some animals got hurt but no big deal" response shows at the very LEAST a failure to do his homework! Come on, Brian. Don't accept this from your contributors! Press harder! You're a better journalist than this! How about a followup wherein you interview someone from the environmental side and someone from the oil interests, who'd better show up with hard data and concrete examples to prove their case, or look stupid in the attempt! More real news, less softball followups!
This was a complete letdown in journalism. Now we have to question what other facts get in the way of a good story on Rock Center. I mean if they mislead the public about fracking twice in a row then what else are they not telling people in other stories?
Time to fire a reporter then do a feature story on the dangers of fracking to balance the two times they implied it was safe and ignored the other side of the story.
I just saw the video Rock Center used to say fracking was safe in an oil company commercial during Meet the Press! THE EXACT SAME VIDEO ROCK CENTER USED WAS IN AN OIL COMP COMMERCIAL!
@ Harry Smith: For more information on the dangers of hydrofracking, watch the documentary Gasland. Harry Smith minimized the dangers on the broadcast tonight. Irresponsible broadcasting.
@ Harry Smith may also want to check out Battlestar Galactica as well. It also contains quite a bit of useful information about fraking.
I know... I saw the whole fracking series just recently!!
Indeed. What a fraking mess.
www.gaslandthemovie.com/
I live in Williston and have for the last 12 years....I am appalled at ROCK CENTER's news cast on Williston, ND. Many of the original residents would like to know when you guys are going to open your eyes and report the real news that is happening here in Williston. What its like to live in fear everytime you get on the road with all the truck traffic, to live in fear with all the break-ins/rapes/and violence going on here, to hear that someone else has died in a bad accident because these people moving in don't care about anything but money. What it is like to live here where there is never anything stocked on the shelves at local grocery stores, Walmart, etc. We are all sick of standing in lines waiting for everything. The price gauging going on for everything especially housing, gas, groceries, etc. The overcrowding of the schools is ridiculous. The city can't even support all the new infrastructure that is happening here. We need more law inforcement, city workers, etc. You guys truly don't understand how it is living out here in Williston and broadcast that it would be great for anyone to come here to Williston....wrong.
What makes me very angry is you guys showed pictures of what it is like in Williston in the winter...If you really look at those pictures those are not even pictures of Williston...Williston does not have a Burger King. You guys think it is great that we are having an oil boom and you only interview the oilfield workers, owners, and operators. Why don't you try to interview the people who have been in Williston longer than the last 2 or 3 years and see how the community feels truly. This is very sad!
So that may not have been exactly Williston, but are you going to tell me that Williston doesn't have winter weather like that...or worse. I lived in Williston for nearly 22 years and in North Dakota for nearly 50. Those images could have been from any town in North Dakota. The point is that you will be hurtin' big time if you think you can live in a tent or the back or your pickup all winter long.
So you are saying that because Williston doesn't have a Burger King then the winters could not be as bad as shown in the pictures? I lived in Williston for 22 years and in North Dakota for nearly 50. Those winter scenes are typical of Williston and any other North Dakota town. The point they were trying to get across is that winters are brutal here in ND.
It has nothing to do with Burger King we are just simply pointing out that he said hey look at Williston and it wasn't even Williston....yes our winters are comparable all over North Dakota but no one else has the issues we are dealing with right now....wow you missed the main idea of my post better read it over. I was just simply stating about the pictures.....wow
wow...yes I did read your post. I read that you've lived there for 12 years but guess that you moved there from somewhere else. I read that you are concerned an appalled. But I also read that "what makes you angry" is pictures that show what it is like in Williston in the winter. Again, those images reflect winter conditions that are not uncommon in Williston in the winter.
I was born, raised, educated and still live in Minot, ND. Minot is a few hundred miles from Williston and is going through many of the same difficulties as Williston. To compound things, one third of our homes were flooded out this past summer, and remain in uninhabitable conditions.
There is nothing to rent and no where to live. Flooded & gutted homes are going for $75k. Food and supply prices have skyrocketed. Traffic is bonkers and crime is absolutely out of control. Those of us from Minot initially thought the oil boom was a good thing. We were wrong. The days of a nice quiet town where you leave your doors unlocked and bring baked goods to your neighbor are gone. In their place are rapes, prostitution, stabbings, etc. I cannot express the anger in my community regarding this. We want our town back! OIL GO HOME!
Pure and simple, nothing to do with burger king- The fact is that they even lie about the pictures but want us to trust them..lol
About not having enough city workers - I am a Social Worker and trying to get a job in Williston (in child welfare) ... they seem desperate for Social Workers but want to pay much less than what I am currently making. How is it that the city is not getting (or spending) $ from the big oil boom? City officials better realize that to get quality, experienced, workers you need to pay them a fair and comparable salary. While they are waiting around for people who will work for a low salary, a dangerous situation is brewing - Williston needs to take care of its citizens and provide the amount of city workers it needs.
Please stop posting about Williston's jobs unless you're going to bring in companies to house people. Or maybe some companies for shopping/food so we can reduce the 1 hour wait time for Everything ...
I think the 1 hour wait time only applies for the fast food joints during lunch time. I think some of this complaining is a bit overstated to say the least. There are definitely some validity to the mess around Williston, but we need to be honest.
I was just out there, and I waited no less than 30 minutes in line every time I was at a Wal-mart. It was absolutely crazy out there, but my fiance managed to find a great job and I will be (eventually) relocating there to be with him. Jobs here are few and far in-between, and we were about to be evicted so we had to do something. At least being from MN we are used to the same winters, so that part wasn't a shock. It was everything else that shocked the hell out of me.
I need to move there and set up about 100 modular homes.
...
I didn't watch the original story about the North Dakota job boom, but I saw the follow-up report and short appearance by Harry Smith. I realize that for the purpose of the story, beating up on fracking was not the point, but I sure hope you do other stories that explain the REAL dangers that fracking causes. In his short explanation, Harry Smith really soft-peddled the potential dangers which have so many people scared out of their minds... so much so that I wondered whether he's moon-lighting as a sales rep for the gas companies. I haven't gotten a full picture of the tone of your show yet, so maybe hard-hitting exposés aren't something you plan to do. But the fact is, there hasn't exactly been a flood of in-depth coverage of the fracking controversy, so a little counter-programming wouldn't be too much to ask to balance out the rah-rah ad campaigns that the gas companies have been ramping up.
Lest kill more animal, distroy nature, people open your eyes look what the weather is ditroying our land and is all because we continue hurting our eco-system. STOP STOP STOP this our anials will sufer and at the nd we will sufer to, Look the bick Cities.
I tuned into your show tonight, my first and last time. Harry Smith should be ashamed of his misrepresentation of hydraulic fracking. When describing it for the viewers he said it involved, "A little bit of water, a little bit of sand, a few chemicals." Seriously? Mr. Smith hasn't done his homework. Perhaps he should speak to the former mayor of Dish, Texas, Calvin Tillman, about what happened in his town as a result of fracking. Or I might suggest he read some of the reports of Dr. Theo Coburn, the president of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange and one of the foremost experts on the health and environmental effects of the toxic chemicals used in fracking. There is lots of information out there if one is really interested. Shame on you too Brian Williams. Shame on you all at "the rock."
I can't believe the one line added to the report on the environmental dangers of fracking!! It is shameful that a show with the ability to influence so many people, doesn't care about preserving clean air and water, and people's and animals health! How sad for all of us!
Seriously? The piece I just viewed regarding hydrofracking in ND has got to be the singular most irresponsible, shoddy piece of "journalism" I've ever come across. The dismissive and cavalierly delivered "definition" of hydrofracking as "a little bit of chemicals" gets into the water and "might harm a few animals" is so far-removed from the real and irreparable harm that has come to so many as a result of this process, I can barely believe I heard it uttered by folks I thought to be professional newsmen. Can't imagine which oil company has you fitted so snugly into their back pockets, but perhaps before you air your next follow-up on this story you should view the documentary "Gasland" to receive a better education on the subject.
Gasland was filled with enormous falacies, and bad reporting just like this segment was as well! And you really should stop knocking the natural gas industry unless you are willing to give up your heat or the natural gas it cost to make your not so green car I am sure you drive! The energy industry is what keeps this country going, and could very well be the answers to the economic issues we are having, but my guess is you would rather collect your unemployment than go out and get a real job you have to work hard at... so people like my family will continue working hard to keep your heat on! By the way until you have acutally seen the process and watched it happen you have no room to talk! Do not make judgements off what you see on television or in a so called documentary!
Wow--so glad to see that there has been an immediate reaction to one of the most irresponsible pieces of journalism I have ever seen on network television--or was that a commercial for the fracking lobby? I just tuned in the show tonight with high hopes, seeing Ted Koppel on the roster, but without some kind of retraction or full report on the controversy that surrounds fracking, you have lost me as a viewer. And watching Brian Williams just nod and agree while Harry Smith spouted that drivel--with no questions of any weight or value? I have lost whatever respect I had for him...just roll over and believe whatever these companies are telling you as they dangle that irresistible jobs carrot in from of your nose...you are so easily lulled into a deep deep hypnotic sleep...
The Williston story was a simplistic fairy tale told by an obviously biased and uninformed "reporter". Harry Smith omitted many of the real facts about fracking - the contamination of millions of gallons of water with carcinogens and the subsequent disposal of same. Noise and light pollution 24/7 at drilling locations. Destruction of roads by constant truck traffic. Man Camps populated by rig employees whose main form of entertainment is alcohol consumption in off hours. Spills of contaminated water, diesel fuel, and other chemicals. Invisible methane venting...on and on. Hardly the nirvana Mr. Smith presented.
Hey Harry,
How about a story on the long time residents who had their sense of community taken away from them here in Williston? This town used to be the butt of jokes as a horrible place to live and the residents eventually made it better. Those who stayed liked it for what was and now that is all already gone. We may as well put a statue of liberty at the edge of town because now we are being forced to take everybody's poor, sick and downtrodden. If you want to live in a refugee camp in the middle of the world's largest industrial park then this is the place for you!
Exactly! Oil people - please don't come here. We don't want you!
I live in North Dakota and would much rather not have the oil. Sure it brings in money but money isnt everything thing. North Dakota has a small population and we like it that way with all of this oil we are getting many unwanted out of staters into in the state. It is also forever changing our land with new roads being put in everywhere to reach the wells, this will eventually ruin a large of our hunting. So to people thinking about coming to North Dakota please stay out.
I live in Bismarck but spent the entire summer in the middle of oil country due to the flooding, and I would much rather not have this oil sure it brings money but money isnt everything. North Dakota has a small population and we like it that way and this oil is bringing in many unwanted out of staters. The oil is also forever changing our landscape with new roads being put in all of the time to go into new drill sites. This is ruining to beauty of the land and taking away from and harmong the wildlife. The oil also brings heavy truck traffic turning some roads into the condition of prairie trails and causing traffic jams over an hour at times where a normal traffic jams in North Dakota is twenty cars these and over a hundred.
I agree with most everyone that this was not journalism but advertisement. I am in Colorado and we have been dealing with this for sometime now. Not everything that can be made a profit on, should be profited from. Our earth is all of ours. Its not for sale and available to be trashed by the highest bidder. First and last time for me watching this show.
It is shameful that the environmental impact of fracking was reduced to one line-- a few animals were hurt-- Give me a break! A show with the ability to influence so many people should at least give an honest picture of all the concerns associated with fracking. Shame on you for not caring about clean air and water, and the health of people and animals.
When Harry Smith talked about a little flooding in the area this year, he hit a nerve. A big one. Whether he knows it or not, there was major flooding in North Dakota this summer, not just a little flooding as he glossed over. It was the most major flooding in the area since records were kept in the 1800's. Some of the major flooding occurred in Minot. In North Dakota distance this is close to Williston since you can drive there in a couple of hours. Over one quarter of the 11,000 residences in the city of Minot were damaged, the majority completely and some beyond repair. The home my father built--as a flood home to withstand the 100 year flood level--was destroyed. There was 12 feet of water on my parents' home for 30 days. It was not clean water. It was dirty, sewage laden, filthy, putrid river water which soaked everything they owned. Then they and their friends cleaned out the ground level--with a Bobcat. The sewer smell was so bad friends were throwing up from the fumes and wearing hazmat suits. Harry needs to delve into this story too. Get help for Minot. Go to the valley and describe the stench on national television. Have him ask why Canada was so irresponsible with the water they dumped into North Dakota after storing it up to fish and water ski in their reserviors. Have Harry go to Minot and see their housing shortage due to the oil boom. So much of a shortage that my parents did not have anywhere to live after they lost everything they had worked for that last 30 years due to other's negligence and bad decisions (anyone heard of the Army Corps of Engineers?). Those in the City administration were not affected by the flood, all having residence on the hills, and don't understand the urgency of getting a house to a stage where preservation from the harsh North Dakota winters is imperative to preserve what little is left. The gouging for housing and services goes on in Minot due to the flood and the oil boom. The murder rate has risen 400% from last year. I live in Washington, DC and people here from FEMA told me when I mentioned Minot, "Oh, that's the bad place". The temporary trailers FEMA is deploying is the third largest group ever, only smaller than Katrina and another devestating hurricane. People who don't know North Dakota, don't understand the area operates much differently than the East Coast (it is truly a different culture and I can say because I've lived both) and this oil boom and state surplus does not mean everything there is fine because there is money. It is not Washington, DC--THANKFULLY!!! If you want a tour, tell Harry I can arrange it, but it won't be pretty.
Here! Here! I lost my home. My parents lost their home. My brother, his wife's parents and my uncle all lost their homes to this flood. When I say this, I don't mean that we have a bit of clean up to do. I mean our homes are destroyed, the basements are falling in. Walls are bowed. Keep in mind that homeowner's insurance does not cover flooding. If a tornado took them, we would at least have a payment from homeowner's. Not so with flooding. What little FEMA gives us is all we have. The oil boom has increased the cost of a one bedroom apartment to $1200/month. That is, if you can even find one. What are we to do? Folks born & raised here are moving away, and being replaced by oil riggers. These people may be fine folks, but they don't care about Minot. They're here for the money. Our quiet community is now plagued with crime. We are angry. OIL GO HOME!
Thank you Rock Center for finally saying not to come until all your ducks are together!! Housing is a MAJOR problem and then there is the simple fact (that was once again proved this morning) that most people that aren't from the area have problems driving in our winter weather conditions. If there is snow and ice on the roads, and you have to go out...SLOW DOWN! STAY OFF YOUR PHONE! SLOW DOWN! PAY ATTENTION! SLOW DOWN! OBEY TRAFFIC SIGNS! Did I mention SLOW DOWN!?!?
The boom and all the newly "created" oil field jobs are putting extreme stress on the community and the businesses that were here before the boom. There is more crime and not enough law enforcement, more services needed and not enough people willing/wanting to work outside the "big money" oil field jobs. And what most people don't realize these entry level oil field jobs don't pay any more per hour than a basic non oil field job and the only way to get the money they are promising is to work long hours in extreme conditions. For example: the average work week for alot of oil field jobs is 100 to 140 hours per week and there is only 168 hours in a week. It pretty much means that unless you don't sleep, you don't have a life other than work!
Whether a person is wanting to try to "get rich quick" in the oil field, or just be able to make a living working in non oil field positions, they need to have housing figured out BEFORE they head for this beautiful state that we have called our home our entire lives, and when they get here, please respect our land, our cities, and our people that were here long before you.
I want to see a story about how many men employed in this fracking industry come back to their families disabled for life. What about the young man who was almost killed while working for halliburton on July 29th two years ago?? Where is the story about where he is now after working for halliburton in the williston and dickinson area and what his family is going through now??