Few Dickinson businesses felt the impact of the Great Recession.
As stock prices fell, the national housing market crashed and consumer confidence dipped, southwest North Dakota largely weathered the storm.
Trial Runners tells a different story.
Month: March 2015
Listening to fulfill a need
Do you read?
I’m not talking about this column and newspaper, or the Facebook news feed some of you probably scrolled through to get here. Yes, that is reading, but it’s a different type of reading than I’m talking about.
Really, my question should be: Do you read books?
For me, the answer is … kinda. Let me explain …
Small fires point to dry conditions in southwest N.D.
Three small grass fires near and in Dickinson the past two days have shown area authorities and meteorologists just how dry southwest North Dakota is.
While temperatures are on an upward trend — the National Weather Service predicts that highs will be in the 40s this weekend and the 50s early next week — there’s no precipitation in the 14-day forecast.
“It’s quite dry out there and certainly this would be the time of year that’s more susceptible to grass fires,” said Bill Abeling, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Continue reading “Small fires point to dry conditions in southwest N.D.”
Planner talks ways to improve cities; focuses on Dickinson's downtown
Mike Zimney believes there are good and bad ways to build cities.
The Dickinson Downtown Association brought in the city planning specialist to speak to a group of about 60 Dickinson officials, business owners and others interested in revitalizing downtown Thursday afternoon at the Eagles Club.
“We can still build great places,” Zimney said early into his hour-long presentation, “Designing Great Cities.”
Continue reading “Planner talks ways to improve cities; focuses on Dickinson's downtown”
Gatekeepers of the refinery: Lab chemists play large role in Dakota Prairie Refining
In a windowless room inside of a non-descript steel building at Dakota Prairie Refining’s sprawling facility west of Dickinson, there are six people whose job is to make certain America’s first greenfield refinery built since 1976 turns Bakken crude oil into diesel fuel.
“It’s a chem nerd’s dream,” laboratory technician and chemist Nicole Haller said of the lab where she works on the 375-acre refinery site.
The small lab crew — led by supervisor Holly Dalen of Dickinson — has some of the most important jobs at the refinery, which is in the final stages of testing before ramping up operations.
They already spend each day testing crude oil, diesel fuel and its sulphur levels, as well as other products to be produced by the refinery. They also run constant tests on city wastewater to be used in the refining process.
The lab crew act as the refinery’s gatekeepers. If a product goes in or comes out of the refinery, the lab has its eyes and instruments on it.
Dustin Monke 