Interesting viewing today, courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel, which has developed a multi-part series on life in the Bakken.

From the web site:

“Boomtowners” plunges into a modern-day “gold rush” that’s attracting thousands of people from all over the country to the Bakken, a region of North Dakota. An oil boom has turned the area into the epicenter of a white-hot industrial revolution, but a rise in jobs has also led to a surge in population and living costs. Experience this phenomenon first-hand through the eyes of newcomers and longtime residents trying to make a living there in this groundbreaking new docu-series about tapping into the American dream.

Here’s the latest episode, “Wake up the Devil,” which focuses on the rise in costs, crimes and pressures for the area’s newcomers and locals. You can watch it on Youtube.