Join us in this special edition of the Living in McKenzie County Podcast as Vawnita Best sits down with Lynn Welker-Fevold, the president of the Benefit Fund of McKenzie Health. In our engaging conversation, Lynn shares her passion for rural healthcare and the upcoming Giving Tuesday initiatives. This national day of giving is an opportunity … Continued
The November 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: September employment data from the North Dakota Labor Market Information and price/cost data from the USDA is unavailable this month due to the government shutdown. The City Sales Tax Distribution was up significantly (+24%) from October 2024 to October 2025 in Watford … Continued
The October 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: In August, oil prices were down to $64.86 a barrel, nearly $12 lower from August 2024 when prices averaged $76.68. While permit values for September were more than $6.5 million lower than last September, the YTD permit values are nearly identical. The … Continued
At the September 16th County Commissioners meeting, the commissioners agreed to grant $5 million to the Bakken Area Skills Center (BASC) endowment fund. The request was sent to the commissioners after the Job Development Authority (JDA) Board decided that the goals of the BASC align with the JDA goals of economic diversification and workforce development. … Continued
The September 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: Permit values for McKenzie County are up significantly with a YTD total of $10,420,940 compared to $3,966,599 over the same period of 2024. The McKenzie County unemployment rate dropped 0.6% between June and July of 2025 from 2.8% to 2.2%. The … Continued
The August 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: June oil production in McKenzie County was 9,660,056 barrels, which is down nearly 2 million barrels from 11,631,323 barrels in June of 2024. City Sales Tax Distribution for July was $503,808, an increase of 43.7% from last July. The North Unit of … Continued
The McKenzie County Commission has approved adding an additional $2 million in funding towards the JDA Housing Down Payment Assistance Program, which brings the total to $4 million being put towards this. Since launching in February 2025, 79 homes have become a part of the program. The program provides up to $40,000 in down payment … Continued
The July 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: YTD City of Watford City sales tax distributions were $2,858,396, for the same period last year they were $2,347,967. YTD Rough Rider Center visits for this year are 119,700, while for the same time period last year they were 111,200. Apartment occupancy … Continued
The June 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: YTD Occupancy Tax is $81,642, for the same period last year it was $70,258 YTD Rough Rider Center visits is 105,300, the same period last year was 101,800 McKenzie County’s labor force for April 2025 was 8,193, for April 2024 it was … Continued
The May 2025 Economy at a Glance is now available. Some data of note include: Watford City’s city sales tax distribution in April 2025 was $339,504; in April 2024 it was $262,643. The McKenzie County Landfill’s daily average in April 2025 was 105.8 tons; in April 2025 it was 83.3 tons. The number of permits issued in … Continued
