MTPR Special Report: "Bakken Spinoffs--The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"

(Note: This is the final of a six-part series on "Bakken Spinoffs" airing Thursdays through January 9th on "Montana Evening Edition.")

The flares from oil rigs light up the night sky in the Bakken region.

Burning off these polluting gases is a by-product of extracting the oil in fracking operations.

Not only do the flares increase the emissions of the rigs, the oil companies are wasting natural resources that could be sold.

It has been a cost of doing business in the fracking world.

(Note: This is the fourth of a six-part series on "Bakken Spinoffs" airing Thursdays through January 9th on "Montana Evening Edition.")

Williston, North Dakota, the undisputed capital of the Bakken Oil Boom, offers a haven for a new working class. Tens of thousands of newcomers have poured into the area in the past decade, seeking to fill an abundance of high-paying, low-skill labor jobs. The influx has brought rapid economic development to Williston; it hasn’t brought much in the name of high culture.

(Note: This is the third of a six-part series on "Bakken Spinoffs" airing Thursdays through January 9th on "Montana Evening Edition.")

Sidney, Montana and other towns surrounding the Bakken Oil Boom are seeing rapid growth and businesses of all kinds are benefitting from the influx of new people following the oil.

Reynold’s Market, a Sidney grocery store in operation since 1925, just moved to a new location twice the size of their old place. The number of workers there bumped up from about 60 to 140.

(Note: This is the first of a six-part series on "Bakken Spinoffs" airing Thursdays through January 9th on "Montana Evening Edition.")

Sidney’s Mayor, Bret Smelser, stood at the corner of his community’s busiest street, Central Avenue. A steady stream of traffic, punctuated with big rigs, leaves thick white exhaust hanging in the frigid air. Smelser nodded to one truck.

“One of our city crew, collecting twice as much garbage as we did two years ago,” he said.

(Note: This is the second of a six-part series on "Bakken Spinoffs" airing Thursdays through January 9th on "Montana Evening Edition.")

Covering news in the Eastern Montana town of Sidney has been a changing business over the last five years.

Front pages depicting the life and times of a sleepy farm town now include headlines about a booming population, a booming economy, and crime.

This month, we’re bringing you a series of stories on the side effects of the Bakken Oil Boom, positive and negative.

Capitol Reporter Dan Boyce has the story.

(Note: This is the fifth of a six-part series on "Bakken Spinoffs" airing Thursdays through January 9th on "Montana Evening Edition.")

A Friday night at J Dubs Bar and Grill in Williston, North Dakota begins and ends with flashing multi-colored lights, thumping dance music and crowds of young men with money to spend.

"A lot of testosterone, (there’s) a lot of testosterone being thrown around in this town,” said 24-year-old Williston-native Nathan Kleyer.