U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is set to host U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro in western North Dakota on Wednesday.
Heitkamp hopes to show Castro the housing challenges facing North Dakota's oil patch and Indian country. The two will take driving tours of the area and sit on roundtable discussions in Belcourt and Williston.
Tens of thousands of people have moved to communities in western North Dakota in just the past few years seeking high-paying oil field jobs. Housing has often lagged behind the population growth and the area now has some of the most expensive rents in the country.
Castro was the mayor of San Antonio from 2009 until July of this year when he was sworn in as HUD secretary.