Jerry Works

North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger took time today to be sure a reporter understood just how good North Dakotans have it. Oil deposits have handed the state with a population of 675,000 a boom, and unemployment is but a distant 1980s memory. The Peace Garden State is now the third-largest oil producer among the 50 states. The state's unemployment rate -- 3.3% in December -- is the lowest in the nation.