welcome to williston, north dakota. it actually has a negative unemployment rating. nbc's harry smith just got back from williston, now a contribute tore to nbc's "rock center" which debuts tonight on nbc. what's going on here? >> there is a phenomenal amount of oil under the ground there. the oil patch is combined states of texas, massachusetts and ohio combined. they think there is a billion gallons of oil and williston is the capital of this oil patch. you see things happening there that you don't see anywhere else. >> the trucks rumble through like modern buffalo, a stampede that can't be stopped. starting salary for truck drivers, 80,000 a year. you can make $15 an hour at taco john's. in town or in the oil field, if you're willing to work, the money is here. >> you know, there is opportunity here, and that's what we all need is an opportunity. >> long-time mayor ward kosher says williston is fast becoming host to job seekers in all 50 states. in just five years, its population has nearly doubled to 23,000. >> we would have two to thr thousand job openings here.

in a story debuting tonight on "rock center," tonight he gives us just a glimpse of williston, north dakota, where the jobs are. >> reporter: it's a town perhaps unlike any other in america today. everywhere you look, companies are hiring. >> the big issue these days is job creation. we have jobs. we're just a small community. we have 2,000 to 3,000 job openings here and more come on the scene every day. >> reporter: in williston, north dakota, help wanted doesn't even begin to describe it. $15 an hour for fast food workers. $80,000 a year or more if you can turn a wrench or drive a truck. the reason? oil. new technologies are bringing billions of barrels to the surface. and with the oil come jobs of all kinds. grace and miles krugman moved from colorado. after grace, an unemployed teacher for more than a year, found work with the williston schools. >> what was the feeling when they called up and said, yes, we have a job for you? >> i was so excited. it was like -- i don't know how to explain it. i felt like, maybe i am worth something again. >> reporter: her husband miles, a license

after grace, an unemployed teacher for more than a year, found work with the williston schools. >> what was the feeling when they called up and said, yes, we have a job for you? >> i was so excited. it was like -- i don't know how to explain it. i felt like, maybe i am worth something again. >> reporter: her husband miles, a licensed electrician, was offered more than one job. >> i called four companies. i received four offers inside of two hours. >> it's utopia up here. >> reporter: real estate developer terry metzger says new home construction, already booming, is up another 67% this year. >> everybody wants to make their money but it's not just about the money. they just feel so good to be working again. >> reporter: the krugmans see a fresh start and a long-term future here. they're buying a new home and hope to move in by christmas. do you guys feel like pioneers a little bit? >> little bit. we're definitely in on the very beginning of this. >> reporter: and all of this is because there is so much oil under the ground there in north dakota and montana, brian, they think there's at

and there's not a whole lot of recreational things to do in williston, and so all they do is to go toand i see many guys just spend their whole pay checks, because they have nothing else to do. in general the boom has been good for us. >> other places, they wait for fridays, because it is payday. and here, we don't wait. it is payday everyday. >> yes, the oil boom is changing everyday life in small town north dakota and tomorrow, we will talk to the local newspaper and publisher and talk about some of the problems that the boom has brought with it. >> they are getting media coverage, but could the occupy protesters sway the election? talking to our good friend from the daily beast, john avalon about what all of the drum beating on wall street means for the white house. stay here. one. two. and, three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn more cash back for the things you buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back on groceries. 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. it's as easy as one. -two. -three. [ male announce

. >> williston, north dakota. little tiny town almost all the way out to montana.y begins. there's a boom going on the likes of which people in america will not believe. the trucks rumble through like modern buffalo, a stampede that can't be stopped. starting salary for truck drivers? $80,000 a year. you can make $15 an hour at taco john's. in town or in the oil field if you're willing to work, the money is here. >> you know, there's opportunity here. that's what we all need is an opportunity. >> reporter: long-time mayor ward koezer says williston's fast becoming host to job seekers from all 50 states. in just five years, its population has nearly doubled to 23,000. >> we have 2,000 to 3,000 job openings here and more come on the scene every day. >> reporter: 2,000 to 3,000? >> yes. a lot of jobs get filled every day but it's like for every job you fill another job and a half opens up. >> what is the lesson that's fueling this, harry? >> it's the oil field that's underneath there. it's oil that is very difficult to get out until new drilling techniques have been p

williston, north dakota. get a job in ten minutes. >> let's take a look at a clip of harry's piece. >> the trucks rumble through like modern buffalo, a stampede that can't be stopped. starting salary for truck drivers, $80,000 a year. you can make $15 an hour at taco john's. in town or in the oil field, if you're willing to work, the money is here. >> you know, there's opportunity here and that's what we all need is an opportunity. >> long-time mayor ward cozier says williston is fast becoming host to job seekers from all 50 stat states. in just five years its population has nearly doubled to 23,000. >> we'd have two to 3,000 job openings here and more come on the scene every day. a lot of jobs get filled every day, but it's like for every job you fill, another job and a half opens up. >> that's incredible. that's incredible. >> isn't that awesome? >> why is it? >> oil, oil. there are 24 billion barrels of oil underground in western north dakota and montana. it's the baccan shelf. it's unbelievable. 99.5% of

it's williston, north dakota. the boom comes with a price. blake spent some time out there.ll the money coming from? >> well, the money's coming from the oil and the oil is coming from a place called the formation in western, north dakota, and just created thousands of jobs out there as these oil companies find new and better ways of getting all the oil out and the jobs are not just for these oil companies. places are hiring all kinds of positions. we talked to a local fast food chain and the manager of the taco john said that she came from idaho where she made minimum wage and now she's making six figures and they're hiring $15 an hour every single place is hiring as more and more people enter the state. >> that is incredible. now, take me into the experience, if you don't mind. you were actually there for a week and i understand you slept in an rv. >> we did. yes. there is absolutely no where to stay and that is the biggest issue there right now is this huge housing shortage. so, we actually had to rent an rv in bismarck and drive out to western north dakota about four hou

for example williston vermont is named after sam willis, who is a merchant and hempstead long island who made a lot of money from the british supplied during the french and indian wars and like his merchant friends who wanted to lay some of it off and land in vermont. so willis and his friends came up with 40 shillings in silver and atlanta governor wentworth for granting the papers to set up a township five miles by five miles. will you get to see the numbers. any wentworth in 15 years pocketed $3 million in fees just from those lands charters. only to be outdone by new york when new york said wait a minute, our charter says everything between lake champlain and the connecticut river is part of new york, so new new new york governors began counter claiming and insisted that the settlers by the land a second time. the speculators and the settlers who had begun to trickle in -- there were only about 1500 people living in vermont by 1770 -- but those people wanted to learn the land. they worked very hard and it took whatever they had. ethan allen did as a speculator come as a sharehold

those 65,000 barrels a balls will be bumped from a formation within the williston basin north dakota.on-line newsletter reports on these activities, the north dakota gov. stated that within the next two years, north to do it could be producing as much as 700 barrels of oil per day. if north dakota does -- 700,000 barrels of oil per day, excuse me. if 25% were moved into the pipeline, we would move possibly 175,000 barrels of north dakota oil down this pipeline everyday. what does this do for south dakota? i will not quote the statistics but i have personally seen the numbers impact in the state of south dakota in terms of increased employment, income, and tax revenue. and it is definitely good for south dakota. it is definitely a step toward energy independence and barrels of oil we do not have to purchase from an unstable middle east country. i respectfully urge you to conclude the review process and approve the presidential permit. thank you. [booing] [applause] >> now i like to call #27, and no. 28, no. 29, and no. 30. >> i and dave collyer. and start by being very clear about why