Hotel in Williston offers free rooms to those displaced from power outages

WILLISTON, N.D. – When North Dakotans are in need, it’s not uncommon that their neighbors step up to help. That good will is on display again, in the wake of this past weekend’s storms.

Some people displaced from the major power outages in western North Dakota are staying at the Microtel in Williston, in rooms donated by local area businesses.

This hug is coming from a woman who has been without power for more than five days, hugging the woman who gifted her a hotel room to stay in.

“It means really a lot. We really try to give back to everybody here in the community when we can and to have this come back to us and pay it forward to us was really nice and the fact that we can be together as a family,” said Shannon Scott, a Williston woman displaced due to power outages.

Other Williston residents like Bailee Whitehead and her son Xavier who have been displaced due to power outages were also gifted a room.

“I was scared of him getting cold and sick. I actually cried in the car a couple of times because I really didn’t know what to do,” said Bailee Whitehead, a Williston resident displaced from power outages.

The general manager of the Microtel in Williston said she saw the need for help and acted.

“It warms my heart, especially with all the children we have here, that is what I was most concerned about is the young children. It is just great, it’s a great feeling to know that they have a warm place to stay we can provide them hot meals,” said Gemma Jones, the general manager of Microtel in Williston.

More than 80-night stays have been gifted from area businesses like Skin Win Dermatology.

“I’ve had personally two people reach out that got the rooms that were super appreciative and were like crying on the phone with me telling me how happy they were that their kids got light and that they had heat and how important it was to them,” said Amanda Wilson with Skin Win Dermatology.

While crews still work on restoring power across the region, the community in Williston is banding together through tough times.

Jones said she hopes other businesses will want to join in and donate rooms throughout the rest of the week.

To donate rooms or ask about rooms, you can call 701-577-4900.

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