It has been a year of adjusting for North Dakota State Junior Guard Brennan Watkins, who has found a new home in Fargo after two seasons at VMI.

“It’s different in the stand point that I get to just focus on basketball more. At VMI there was military, a lot of academics and then basketball was kind of an after thought. Obviously there is time for academics but I have more time to be in the gym and get more shots up,” said Watkins looking back at his time out east.

As the Missouri native navigates his first season with the green and gold, Watkins also has to adjust to some new headgear after a gruesome injury in the game against Weber State earlier this season.

“I didn’t even know where I got hit. I just knew there was pain radiating around my face. My reaction was to just put my hands to my face. I kind of took my hands away and my hands were just completely filled with blood and I was like oh no that’s not good” he said.

Watkins suffered a compound fracture breaking his nose in two places.

“When I was at the game the team doctor readjusted it partially there and they said it was too swollen to completely adjust it. I think once I go back to the doctor they are going to adjust it a second time too. There is not pain but it is difficult to breathe. I’m not really getting as much airflow through my nose as I am used to” said Watkins describing his challenges with the broken nose.

Despite the injury, Watkins hasn’t missed a game or a beat becoming the “Masked Man” for the Bison.

“It’s completely different. I can’t really see out of my peripherals. Once I start to sweat the clear mask starts to fog up so that creates another problem. It’s truly difficult. I don’t think people understand how much of a difference it makes,” he said.

“Brennan has always been a really talented basketball player. Gifted offensive player and we have challenged him on the little things, the winning plays and he is starting to understand those and execute those things and that’s the next step for him,” said NDSU Head Coach, Dave Richman.

A warrior, Watkins is determined to stay on the floor and make those winning plays for North Dakota State.

“Just do anything for my team and help them win that is just kind of the player I am. It doesn’t matter if I have a broken nose. If I am able to play I’m going to be out there,” said Watkins.

The Bison Men’s Basketball Team has one more non-conference match up against CSU-Bakersfield on Monday night before conference play begins on January, 2nd.

FARGO — For the second year, most North Dakota homeowners have the chance to save $500 on their taxes.

The primary residence tax credit returns after being passed in 2023 legislation.

Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus says last season, more than 90% of people who were eligible to apply sent in their application and saved a combined total of nearly $70 million dollars.

The North Dakota Tax Commission is hoping for an even higher application rate this season.

The commission has been working with lawmakers to add individuals with homes in a trust. Because of language in the bill, they didn’t qualify in 2023.

Kroshus said those residents now will be eligible for credit from last year, as well.

“So far, we’ve received over 35,000 applications already in just a couple of weeks. And to put that into perspective, last year, we received 135,000 applications in total, but we’re already at the 35,000 mark, and last year, we didn’t open until Jan. 1. This year, we decided to pull the trigger just a little bit earlier,” he said.

For questions about eligibility or the application process, you can call the commission toll-free at (877) 649-0112.

You can apply for the tax credit

on their website

.

MDN File Photo
North Dakota’s oil production had a recent decline largely due to the wildfires in October.

BISMARCK – Wildfires in October attributed to a decline in oil and gas production in the state that month, according to the director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Nathan Anderson said the state produced 1.178 million barrels of oil a day in October. In September, the state produced 1.199 million barrels of oil a day.

He said the oil production numbers are down about 522,000 barrels for the month.

“This is largely due to the wildfires that occurred starting later in the first week of October and those shut-ins that remain on and off for the remainder of the month,” Anderson said. He said oil production is down 1.8% but it’s still up to the revenue forecast of 7%.

Anderson released the October production numbers this past week. The numbers are normally two months behind.

North Dakota produced 3.4 million cubic feet (MCF) a day of natural gas in October, a decrease of 4.1%. The gas capture was 94%. In September, the gas capture was 95%.

Anderson said the natural gas production was down also due to the wildfires in the state in October.

He said 97% of the state’s oil production is from the Bakken and the Three Forks formations, and 3% from the legacy pools.

On Wednesday, the price of North Dakota Light Sweet crude oil was $62.65 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was $70.94 a barrel, according to the report. The all-time high was in June 2008 when N.D. Light Sweet was $125.62 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was $134.02 a barrel.

In September, 100 wells were permitted and in October, 111 wells were permitted, according to Anderson. The all-time high was 370 wells permitted in October 2012.

He said the trend over the past several years has been less 2-mile lateral wells being permitted and more 3-mile lateral permits coming in. He said most recently, there’s been probably half a dozen 4-mile lateral permits, He said the trend for longer laterals continues in the state.

The rig count in North Dakota for the month of October was 39, Anderson said. In November, there were 37 rigs. On Wednesday, he said 37 rigs were actively working in the state and two were on federal surface.

Anderson said North Dakota is fourth in the nation in rig counts. Citing Baker Hughes information, he said 589 rigs are working in the United States. In addition to the 37 in North Dakota, 284 are in Texas, 104 in New Mexico and 43 in Oklahoma.

From a basin standpoint, he said, the Permian is at 304 rigs, Eagle Ford/South Texas at 46 rigs, Williston Basin including North Dakota and Montana around 40 and the Marcelus/Utica (dry gas) at 35.

In October, he said 331 wells were waiting on completion,1,796 are inactive and remains relatively consistent month over month, and 95 were completed. In November, 98 wells (preliminary number) were completed.

He said the number of producing wells set another all-time high of 19,334 in October.

Anderson said 73 abandoned wells have been plugged and 82 sites reclaimed during 2023 through October 2024 as part of a $25 million grant. “We expect this to be closer to the 110 mark once all the grant money is all wrapped up,” he said.

On the Fort Berthold Reservation, Anderson said, oil production is at 177,000 barrels of oil per day. He said one rig is running and the reservation has 2,950 active wells. He said two wells are waiting on completion.

“Production continues to drop slightly month over month. I would likely contribute this to just less activity and a rig count that doesn’t quite add the same production as the decline,” he said, referring to Fort Berthold Reservation.

He said the drilling rig count in the state remains steady even with the mergers and acquisitions across the United States. He said this is expected to increase gradually to the mid-40s sometime over the next couple years.

He said 14 frac crews are actively operating in the state and operators continue to maintain a permit inventory of approximately 12 months.