North Dakota is booming. The state's unemployment rate is just 3.2 percent — well below the national average of 7.9 percent. Officials are trying to keep pace with a population surge brought on by oil industry jobs that have made North Dakota the country's number two oil-producing state. But what will extracting millions of barrels from the Bakken oil field mean for the region's environmental and economic future? Writer and reporter Richard Manning joins us with the story of North Dakota's oil boom.
Also this hour: Seattle education blogger Dora Taylor responds to our interview with former DC schools chief Michelle Rhee, UW communication professor David Domke looks ahead to 2016 presidential politics and Marcie Sillman brings us a preview of the new rock musical "These Streets" with creators Gretta Harley and Sarah Rudinoff.