ND Final Thoughts—Renewal thru Angels

When Scott Molander, Mike Fladeland, Deb Dragseth and others were touring me thru western ND and eastern MT, I marveled at the natural beauty of the region. I was most impressed with the people that I met, especially their attitude toward trying to do things for the betterment of their communities and region.

One thing though that really bothered me from that week was a bumper sticker that several people told me about. It obviously made an impression upon many people because of the number of times I heard about it and the fact that the bumper sticker was probably last seen in 1985, over 20 years ago.

So what could make this kind of impression? And what can we do about it today?

The bumper sticker was fairly straightforward. It said, “Lord, Give Us One More Oil Boom. We Promise Not to Blow it This Time!”

Today the Williston Basin in western ND and eastern MT is going thru another oil boom, their third in 50 years. And just like the first two, this one is going to end in a bust at some point in time, although no one can tell you when that bust will occur. But, it will be ugly, just like the first two. And, it’s not a question of IF, but WHEN!

My question is: Will there be any lasting benefits from this current boom of $50+ oil?

Scott and I spent a lot of time talking about this subject in our 700 miles together in the car driving from town to town, giving talks and touring communities. He has been involved in an angel investor network in Indiana and I think that such a network could work in the region that we visited. It would take coordination, determination and salesmanship, but I think that it could be something that could act as a catalyst to help foster more entrepreneurial activity.

And I can’t believe that it wouldn’t be an attractive investment for some of the many people who are going to be making “windfall profits” in the coming years with this current oil boom. People who love their towns and region, understand that they’ve got to continue to progress or they run the risk of their towns continuing to “age in place.”

If Scott or someone else decides to put something together, I’d like to invest. That’s how sure I am of the merit and chance of success that it has from what I saw on my trip.