Moved back—and loving it Watford City is growing with new residents—some of whom are living here for the first time, and others who have returned to their childhood homes. In this latest Voices of Watford City video, hear the stories of four individuals who grew up in the Watford City area. After living away for a bit, they have since returned—joining many others just like them with the abundance of employment opportunities, new amenities, and the familiarity and newness of being back. View other Voices of Watford City videos here.

Many new businesses to Watford City in 2017 Here's a likely incomplete (so many to keep track of) list of new retail businesses that set up shop in Watford City in 2017. More are in the works in the coming weeks and for 2018--exciting times!

New discount store Family Dollar touts low prices on a wide assortment of items, including cleaning supplies, discount groceries, seasonal items and toys. They have two locations in Watford City: 605 S. Main Street & 3508 4th Ave NE.

New flower shop More options to find flowers and home decor are now available in Watford City with the opening of Mabe's Flower Market in November. Find the shop at 104 4th Ave SE.

New pizzeria Giotto's Neighborhood Pizzeria features pizza, subs, stromboli, calzones and salads for dine in and carry out. Their facility also features arcade games. They are located at 700 4th Ave. NE.

New health supplement store Earlier this year, Empire Nutrition opened their doors. They offer dietary supplements for weight training, weight loss and every day nutrition as well as multivitamins and probiotics. They are located at 1005 S Main Street.

New car dealership Ryan Auto has an assortment of new and used vehicles. They are located at 212 6th Ave SE.

New bakery Hometown Homemade sells fresh baked goods, homemade grain-free dog treats, bath bombs and other locally-made items. Located at 512 N Main St.

New motorsports store TyDak Motorsports has snowmobiles, ATVs, UTVs, utility trailers, fish houses, ice fishing equipment, gear and casual clothing for the whole family, and much more. They also do repairs in their service department. Located at 313 12th St SE.

New soup and sandwiches shop Soup City specializes in homemade soups, and has an assortment of breads and a daily sandwich special all at 104 4th Ave S.

New consignment store Everything Under the Sun has clothing and a variety of consigned goods. Located at 113 Main Street S.

New boutique & consignment shop Southern Roots is a boutique and consignment shop located at 710 N Main Street.

New fast food Hardee's has an assortment of quick served sandwiches, sides, and dessert complete with a two-lane drive-through and indoor and outdoor seating. Located at 104 9th Ave SE.

New sporting goods J Sports Sporting Goods has an assortment of sporting goods at 1100 4th Ave NE.

New art class gallery Gallery on the Go with Karen offers the opportunity for group art classes. No art experience required. Located at 141 3rd St SW.

Crestwood Energy announces natural gas processing facility plans Phase 1 of the Bear Den gas processing plant in Watford City, ND, was announced Dec 5, 2017. This phase adds 30 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/d”) of processing capacity to support increasing gas volumes on Crestwood’s Arrow gathering system located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Additionally, Crestwood announced it has reached final investment decision to proceed with Phase 2 expansion of the Bear Den gas processing plant with the addition of a new 120 MMcf/d cryogenic gas processing plant. See more in this Crestwood press release.

Shari Buck hired by Sen. Hoeven US Senator John Hoeven recently announced Shari Buck as his Regional Director for western North Dakota. In this role based in Watford City, she will cover 13 counties in the western portion of the state, helping the senator assist constituents, businesses and community leaders in the region. Buck took the place of Jon Cameron following his retirement from 42 years of public service. See more in this news release from Senator Hoeven.

December Economy at a Glance released Oct 2017 oil production for McKenzie County is 671,254 barrels or 5.5% more than it was in Oct 2016. Fall 2017 K-12 public school enrollment for McKenzie County tops 2,000 for the first time. Restaurant/Lodging Tax Distribution from November 2017 is nearly $13,000 higher than November 2016. See data like that and more in this month's Economy at a Glance.

Dog park opens Dogs owners now have a new place for their dogs to roam, thanks to the recently-opened, eight-acre Doc Nelson Dog Park managed by the Watford City Parks and Recreation Department. The park is located at 425 5th St. NE, Watford City. Check out this story on the park by KX News.

Growing local leaders Participants from throughout the region have been spending their fall learning more about leadership theory and practice through the Growing Leaders Seminar. Over the five, half-day sessions at the Rough Rider Center that wrapped up the beginning of December, participants heard from thought leaders on leadership components like effective communication across generations, habits of highly-effective people, effective citizenship, and personality assessments. They also had a chance to interact with panels of locals regarding their involvement in county, city, school boards, nonprofit work, for-profit work, and many community organizations. The seminar was facilitated by the NDSU Center for Community Vitality with assistance from the McKenzie County Extension Office and the McKenzie County Job Development Authority.

Whiting to focus on Williston Basin According to this Houston Chronicle article, Whiting Petroleum Corp looks to focus its 2018 operations in the Williston Basin from the DJ Field in Colorado. Whiting has been finding the Williston Basin to be more productive.

500 volunteers needed to pack 100,000+ meals Five hundred volunteers are needed to commit to a two-hour shift to package approximately 101,088 meals that will be sent around the world to feed those in need. The event will be held in the Rough Rider Center on March 9-10, 2018. Donations and sponsorships to cover the cost of the food ($23,950) are being accepted, and registration for the volunteers will open approximately six weeks before the event. For those with questions contact Angie Hartel at 701-580-4403 or hartel4@yahoo.com.

Indoor activities abound at Rough Rider Center Though we haven't had much snow yet, winter is right around the corner. Many enjoy the sledding, ice fishing, and other outdoor winter activities that the season brings. For those looking for indoor activities, the Rough Rider Center is offering many options: swimming lessons, family game nights, water aerobics, yoga and more. Throughout the year the building gets used for a large variety of activities including hockey, figure skating, curling, basketball, roller skating, volleyball, gymnastics, track-walking, swimming, working out, training classes and business and social events in the conference facility.

A Magical Medora Christmas Dec 20 Medora's hit Christmas show returns for its third year! During 28 shows, in 22 communities, A Magical Medora Christmas features vocal performances by the amazing Emily Walter, the multi-talented former Broadway Star, Jared Mason, and the wonderful Broadway Soloist, Job Christenson. Throughout the show, Wild West Prestidigitator, Bill Sorensen, will wow you with magic true-to-the-season and light-hearted humor the whole family will love. The show will be at the Performing Arts Center at Watford City High School at 7:30pm on Wednesday, December 20. For more information and tickets visit here.

Registration opens for oil conference Registration is now open for those wanting to attend or reserve a booth space at The Bakken Conference & Expo. The event will be held July 16-18, 2018 at Watford City's Rough Rider Center. Registration is free for those who are operating producers, or from active drilling or completion companies.

Rural Leadership Class VII concludes as Class VIII begins Three local residents were a part the 29 member Class VII of Rural Leadership North Dakota (RLND). Erica Johnsrud, Gregg Schuetze and Daniel Stenberg participated in this 18-month leadership development class that took them to meetings in six different North Dakota communities, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Vietnam and Thailand. Three more will be representing McKenzie County in RLND Class VIII (2017-2019) which kicked off this month. They include Wade Elder from Cornerstone Bank, Suhail Kanwar from the County of McKenzie County, and Heather Van Gelder from Oneok.

Turkey bingo draws hundreds Upwards of 600 people turned out for the annual Chamber of Commerce-sponsored turkey bingo. Folks were vying for a chance to win one of 150+ frozen turkeys before Thanksgiving. See more in this McKenzie County Farmer article.

Check out the upcoming events listed on our community calendar , like the Fire Department Appreciation Ball on December 31!

View past issues of the monthly update here.

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