Stanley is Booming

There's a new number one in oil production in the state. Mountrail County has moved past Bowman ...  More »

There's a new number one in oil production in the state. Mountrail County has moved past Bowman County to become the top county for pumping oil with 1-point-5 million barrels produced in August. And the county seat of Stanley is booming because of all the oil activity. Jim Olson took a driving tour of the town with mayor Mike Hynek to discover the growth that's going on as part of the surge in Bakken oil exploration... (Jim Olson, KX News) Mike Hynek became mayor of Stanley two years ago (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) I thought everything would be, steady as she goes... (Jim Olson, KX News) just before the boom hit (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) ...so much for that. But it's great. (Jim Olson, KX News) Great, because he's watched an amazing spurt of growth in his town of 13 hundred people. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) Currently right in the city proper, inside the city limits we have about 12 million dollars worth of commercial construction going on. (Jim Olson, KX News) So, let's see some examples. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) This is the EOG property. (Jim Olson, KX News) Oil company EOG is establishing its North Dakota office in Stanley - right here. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) A new business in town to our left here is Richland Pump. (Jim Olson, KX News) And right across from Richland Pump is the new Power Fuels location. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) Two years ago Power Fuels, Richland Pump was not here. (Jim Olson, KX News) At the town's edge is a new business, Dresser Oil Tools. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) They're an oilfield supply company and carry a lot of things that farmers and others would be interested in. (Jim Olson, KX News) And just down a frontage road-in-the-making sit two huge new buildings - that will soon be home to the two major farm implement dealers, Stanley Equipment and Gooseneck Implement. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) It's going to be impressive to have these two major implement dealerships being built right here on Highway 2. It's going to be an attraction for the entire town. This is where we just did $700,000 worth of improvements. (Jim Olson, KX News) Mayor Hyneck has always lived in or near Stanley and says the growth right now is unprecedented (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) I think there's been more dirt moved in Stanley in the last six months than had been moved for construction purposes in the last 15 years or 20. (Jim Olson, KX News) But he's not trying to win any political points from the boom. (Mike Hynek, Stanley Mayor) Myself and the city council didn't have a doggone thing to do with this. It was the price of oil and the price of wheat and cattle that we've had over the last two-three years that has prompted it. We're just hoping to be good stewards of it. In Stanley, Jim Olson, KX News. Tomorrow, we'll talk with the mayor about the challenges brought by the sudden growth.  « Less