The South Central Human Service Center in Jamestown is opening a satellite office in Valley City.

Center director Dan Cramer said it will mean Valley City-area people will have greater access to behavioral health services. Cramer said a steering group in Valley City raised some issues concerning those services.

"One of the issues identified is a barrier that exists with transportation, for folks having trouble getting to Jamestown," Cramer said. "Also, just a general need for mental health and addiction treatment in the community."

The annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference is underway in Bismarck this week.

"It's a bit of a celebration that we've all survived a very rough four-year period of time," said North Dakota Petroleum Council president Ron Ness. "The Bakken in back."

Ness said the WBPC is not just for oil industry professionals – but it’s also for developers.

"We know we're going to need more infrastructure and more housing," Ness said. "We want to show developers the longevity of  of the Bakken."

In the wake of the Republican-endorsed candidate for North Dakota Secretary of State withdrawing his name from the ballot, incumbent Secretary of State Al Jaeger  has decided to run.

But he will run as an independent.

Jaeger said state law does not specifically address this kind of situation – when an endorsed candidate voluntarily withdraws.

"I'll need 1000 signatures on a petition," Jaeger said. "They will have to be filed before Sept. 4th. That option is what exists in state law."

The Dakota Gasification Company has entered into a joint partnership with OCI NV to sell nitrogen fertilizer and diesel exhaust fluid in North America.

Dakota Gasification is a for-profit subsidiary of Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

The joint venture is being named N-7 LLC.      

"It's called N-7 because nitrogen is the 7th element in the periodic table," said Basin Electric spokesman Curt Pearson.

Pearson said N-7 will market  and distribute more than 4.5 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizers from the Beulah plant.

Members of the North Dakota Public Service Commission are commending MDU for its natural gas expansion projects.

MDU is building a pipeline from the existing Alliance Pipeline to Gwinner, to serve the Doosan Bobcat plant. It is also building a pipeline to connect its Williston Basin line to the Viking pipeline in western Minnesota.

Some communities have said businesses won’t expand or locate because of a lack of natural gas service.

Commissioner Julie Fedorchak has long pushed for natural gas expansion.

Two business and development organizations serving the Bismarck-Mandan area are planning to combine.

They’re the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce – and the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association. Brian Ritter is the president and CEO of both organizations.  He told reporters combining the two strengthens the business community’s voice.

"If you have two business organizations coming together, and advocating on those same issues that are relevant and important to the business community, one bigger voice is stronger and more effective," Ritter said.

Superbugs like MRSA, C.diff and other antibiotic resistant germs make people sick every year when they visit the place they rely on to keep them healthy - their local hospitals.

"75,000 of those yearly are fatal," said Brandon Bray, account manager for Xenex Disinfection Services.

"Which is about equivalent to, if you added up breast cancer, AIDS and car accidents. It's the same as hospital acquired infections, but people just don't talk about it," said Leah Hansen, Xenex associate business development manager.

Williston State College has reduced housing rates for its Frontier Hall residence.

The price per semester, for double occupancy, will be $2000. WSC is also providing $1000 per semester housing scholarships.

Williston State’s director of residence life, Kit Hernandez, said this is being done to help the college remain competitive.

"If students aren't going to be attending due to housing costs, we want to lower that barrier, and make sure they're getting to us," Hernandez said.

Gov. Doug Burgum held one of his “Main Street” initiative meetings in Mandan Wednesday.

"I think Mandan is actually a poster child for it (Main Street)," said Mandan Mayor Tim Helbling. "We have a number of renaissance zone projects, storefront improvement projects, and other things some people would like to eliminate. If we wouldn't have had those opportunities, we wouldn't be in the growth pattern we're in today."

Helbling said those efforts are helping to make Mandan an attractive city. And he said that’s reflected in the city’s population growth.