MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE: MDU) announced today that it and Cascade Natural Gas Corp. (NYSE: CGC) have filed stipulations with the Oregon Public Utility Commission and have reached a settlement in principle of all issues with various parties to the merger proceeding pending before the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The stipulations filed in Oregon relate to the application for approval of the pending merger with Cascade (announced July 9, 2006), as well as a pending show cause proceeding related to Cascade’s level of rates in Oregon, which commenced in August 2006. Parties to the stipulations include the commission staff as well as various interveners.

The settlement stipulation in Washington is expected to be filed by mid-May.

Included in the stipulations are certain commitments and rate credits applicable to the approval of the merger and the show cause proceeding. The stipulations are subject to approval by the respective commissions in Oregon and Washington.

Regulatory approvals from the North Dakota Public Service Commission and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission have previously been received.

“We are very pleased with the cooperation of the commission staffs as well as that of the interveners and feel equitable stipulations have been put together for the commissions to review,” said Terry D. Hildestad, president and chief executive officer of MDU Resources. 

Upon approval by the Oregon and Washington Commissions of the pending applications for merger, Cascade will join Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. and Great Plains Natural Gas Co. as a third utility business within MDU Resources. Montana-Dakota and Great Plains serve more than 250,000 natural gas customers and 120,000 electric customers in five Upper Midwest states. The company anticipates the transaction to close mid-year.

Cascade serves 246,000 customers in 93 communities – 65 of which are in Washington and 28 in Oregon. Cascade’s service areas are concentrated in western and south central Washington and south central and eastern Oregon.

The information in this release includes forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the expected timing of the filing of the settlement stipulation in Washington, the pending approval of stipulations and the timing of the closing of the transaction, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results may differ materially. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the inability to obtain regulatory approval. For a discussion of other important factors that could cause actual results to differ, refer to Item 1A – Risk Factors in MDU Resources’ most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.

MDU Resources Group, Inc., a member of the S&P MidCap 400 index, provides value-added natural resource products and related services that are essential to energy and transportation infrastructure. MDU Resources includes natural gas and oil production, natural gas pipelines and energy services, construction materials and mining, construction services, electric and natural gas utilities, and independent power production. For more information about MDU Resources, see the company's Web site at www.mdu.com or contact the Investor Relations Department at investor@mduresources.com.


Contacts:

   For financial inquiries, contact:
     Vernon A. Raile
     Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
     (701) 530-1003

     Phyllis A. Rittenbach
     Director of Investor Relations
     (701) 530-1057

   For media inquiries, contact:
     Mark Hanson
     Public Relations Representative
     (701) 530-1093