I had seen that headline. You could make some very good housing in ND using Intermodal containers. The U.S. Armed Forces are doing it in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. There are manufacturers and suppliers who can do these conversions as we speak. What's needed is sites, site prep, and rough-in of sanitary and utilities. Then truck the converted containers to the site and set them in place with a crane. Hook-up sanitary and utilities, finish off the interiors and you've got a working camp in no time. There are plenty of containers. They could even setup container conversion lines in ND for containers that are locally available (or could be brought in by rail).
You can use the modified containers for field offices, messing, sleeping, and recreational facilities. They are efficient, easy to heat and cool, easily fitted with showers and lavatories, and are extremely fast to get operational.