Today in Minot

The Ward County Commission will hold its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 9:00 AM in the Commission Chambers at the Ward County Administrative Building, located at 315 3rd St SE. Ward County Commission meetings can be live-streamed through the county's Vimeo page found...

The Minot City Council will hold its regular meeting on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 5:30 PM in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 10 3rd Ave SW. Residents in need of special accommodations are encouraged to contact the City Clerk’s office at...

Editor's Note: In response to recent social media content shared widely that could easily be argued as libelous, former advisory committee member Kevin Black shared the following comments intended for City Council with local media representatives. We've chosen, with permission of Mr. Black, to publish his...

In California, every $1 spent on tree maintenance returns $5.82 in benefits—from energy savings to cleaner air and higher property values. That kind of return is why the Smart Surfaces Coalition is encouraging cities to invest in their urban canopies. Their new 16-page guide, released April 24, offers practical tools for policymakers to use trees as frontline infrastructure against heat, pollution, and stormwater. With real-world examples and zoning strategies, it’s a playbook for making cities cooler, healthier, and more cost-effective. Robyn Griggs Lawrence with SmartCitiesDive has the full story.

Pando doesn’t speak in words, but it whispers through the wind. This vast Utah forest—technically a single, ancient aspen organism—has begun to reveal its voice thanks to a sound artist’s experiment. Using a hydrophone, Jeff Rice captured faint rumbles and vibrations traveling through Pando’s shared root system, offering a new way to understand its hidden life. The recordings are beautiful, but they may also help scientists study its health. For a tree that’s 12,000 years old, every sound might be a clue to its survival. Tessa Koumoundouros with Science Alert has the full story; you can watch and learn a litttle more in Youtube video below as well.

State Forester Thomas Claeys is pleased to announce that four new champion trees and three new second place champions have been added to the North Dakota Register of Champion Trees. The purpose of the champion tree contest is to engage the public in forestry activities and...

Cities across the country may soon lose one of their most important tools for climate planning. The Trump administration has dismissed hundreds of scientists working on the next National Climate Assessment, halting a congressionally mandated report relied on by planners, engineers, and local officials. Experts warn the decision not only disrupts vital data collection—it also leaves communities, especially smaller ones, without clear guidance on how to prepare for rising risks. Critics fear the move could politicize science and set back America’s climate readiness by decades. Robyn Griggs Lawrence with SmartCitiesDive has the full story.

Around the world, farmers are retooling their land to harvest the hottest new commodity: sunlight. As the price of renewable energy technology has plummeted and water has gotten more scarce, growers are fallowing acreage and installing solar panels. Some are even growing crops beneath them, which...

Whether it’s flowing from the kitchen tap or powering firefighting efforts, safe drinking water is something many take for granted—until it’s not there. This week, North Dakota is joining a nationwide effort to honor the people and systems that keep clean water flowing. Governor Kelly Armstrong...

Washington loves a leaker. An “unidentified source” who’s willing to spill the beans and dish on his boss or colleagues. Sometimes, the motivation is revenge, settling the score for an old wrong, be it real or imagined. Other leakers do so for reasons of conscience, believing...

Sometimes, I run out of space in my garden or have extra transplants after planting the garden. I usually end up planting these extras in my containers. Container gardening is a great way to supplement in-ground or raised bed production. Containers can also serve as the...

The northern plains weren’t just plowed—they were planned, lived on, and studied with precision. Buried in the Baldwin Corporation records at NDSU’s archives is a rich, overlooked blueprint for sustainable farming, penned nearly a century ago. Orville Fuller’s 1924 thesis offers more than crop rotations and livestock stats—it captures a model of living with the land that still holds lessons today. As modern agriculture faces new pressures, this forgotten record might just offer a few ideas worth rediscovering.

That’s the focus of this week’s Plains Folk column by Tom Isern. Read or listen at Prairie Public News linked below.

Just as lawmakers wrapped a historic deal on property tax relief, a new chapter may already be underway. Rep. Scott Louser, despite supporting the final bill, took to the House floor to announce plans for a ballot measure that could push state-funded property tax buy-downs even further. His move caught colleagues off guard and sparked frustration—setting the stage for a potential fight not in the Capitol, but at the ballot box. The ink may be dry, but the debate is far from over. Rob Port with InForum has the full story.

Fifty years ago, the war in Vietnam ended ingloriously with a chaotic retreat from Saigon. It was a war that deeply divided America. America remains divided in many ways. It was a long war. It started when I was still in high school and ended when...

North Dakota just locked in one of the most significant property tax reforms in state history. With bipartisan support and backing from Gov. Kelly Armstrong, House Bill 1176 boosts homeowner relief and reins in local budget growth, offering lasting savings funded by the state’s $12 billion...

In the early hours of a bitter January night in 2002, a freight train derailed just west of Minot—and what followed wasn’t just a chemical disaster, but a communication failure that left a city in the dark, both literally and figuratively. As toxic gas crept silently into neighborhoods, emergency alerts never came. Radio lines jammed, TV stations were empty, sirens went unheard. One man died. Hundreds were hurt. And Minot learned the hard way that danger doesn’t always roar—it sometimes arrives with silence.

K.L. Collom with The Dakotan is revisiting the story that many in Minot remember vividly; this is part one.

Most people don’t think about zoning unless they’re fighting city hall—or trying to open a café in the wrong part of town. But zoning quietly shapes nearly everything around us: where we live, how we get to work, what our neighborhoods look like, and who gets to be part of them. In Key to the City, Sara Bronin—a rare combination of architect, lawyer, and policy expert—pulls back the curtain on this overlooked force. Her message is simple: zoning isn’t just technical, it’s transformational. And it’s time we all understood it. Bridget Goldberg with Fast Company has the interview; order the book from Main Street Books.