KOTA Territory NewsBelle Fourche embraces oil boom possibilities

Belle Fourche embraces oil boom possibilities

Change is coming fast to one Black Hills community.
 
Transportation and economic leaders from oil - rich regions of North Dakota shared their experience on how Belle Fouche and the surrounding areas... can benefit from the expected oil boom.

Belle Fourche has already experienced a population increase of about a 1,000 people since the last census.
And Thursdays panelists urged Black Hills communities to start thinking about affordable housing developments and increasing their police forces to meet rising population demands.

While many people in the community have expressed concern about the influx of traffic coming through the community, the tone of Thursday's discussion was hopeful.
 
"Jobs are hard to come by in this economy, especially well, good paying jobs. And in some of these rural communities, we strive to bring people back into our communities and energy does that and so does agriculture," said Cal Klewin, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway.
 
"We're just hoping the good aspects of the oil boom will far outweigh the negative," said Allen Nelson of Rapid City.
 
North Dakota economic leaders also urged Belle Fourche to stop selling city owned lots, and to start buying adjoining and industrial lands.
Because leaders say with the oil boom, the population growth will increase land value.