Plain Talk With Rob Port

Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions of Ukranians, most of whom need a place to go. Meanwhile, North Dakota has a long-enduring workforce shortage that is felt most acutely in the state's oil fields. Now, those two problems are coming together to form what is, if not a solution, is at least a way to mitigate some suffering while simultaneously creating some new opportunities. Former Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford, who stepped down from Gov. Doug Burgum's administration late last year, is now the project manager of what North Dakota's oil industry has dubbed Bakken GROW. The acronym stands for Global Recruitment of Oilfield Workers, and it's precisely what it sounds like. A concerted effort to match Ukranians, who need an escape from their homelands, with jobs in North Dakota's oil industry. "It's not only a workforce recruitment effort, it's a humanitarian effort too," Sanford said on this episode of Plain Talk. "The United States is not good at legal immigration," he added, but hopes this progr