One of the lesser-known niche benefits of living in our part of the world — we’ve got dinosaurs. Well, we have their fossilized remains, at least. And a recent discovery in northeast Montana has people talking. It’s believed to be an ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Get the full story from the Billings Gazette.
Read & Share sourced from: Billings Gazette
The robots are coming. And when they get here, we better join them or hire them. The work and progress of Boston Dynamics has been a regular subject here on TheMinotVoice going back to our beginning. And looking back at the early posts shows just how fast this technology is moving. The two videos below
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A U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services study from 2020 found that insulin prices in the U.S. are as much as 10 times higher than in other developed countries. It’s an issue that’s getting the attention of state legislatures across the country, and the solution that’s increasingly adopted — regardless of which party is
Read & Share sourced from: PEW
Have you wondered how old the fish are in Lake Sakakwea? Would you like to know why it matters? If so, Mike Anderson with North Dakota Game & Fish has you covered. The video below gives you a quick primer on how biologists determine fish age and how the knowledge helps us manage our fisheries.
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Legislators from Grand Forks and Dickinson have sponsored two separate bills (HB 1202 and HB 1164) with the same goal of making medical marijuana doses available in edible form. Currently, state law only allows for dried marijuana leaves and flowers, or THC products such as concentrates, tinctures, capsules, transdermal patches, and lotions. Get the full
Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune
“There’s pretty good evidence that if we continue to use salt at the rate we do now, it’s going to be detrimental to the rivers and lakes eventually.” That’s the comment of Ryan Westphal, the Facilities Director for La Crosse County, Wisconsin, on the long-standing practice of dumping salt on almost any amount of snow.
Read & Share sourced from: Wisconsin WatchThe news was released recently; the film will be released in October, and it’s about a story very much at the heart of North Dakota. The filmmaker is Ken Burns, the topic is the story of the American buffalo and its journey to near extinction and back again. The full news release from PBS is
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The avian flu is no joke. If the price of eggs isn’t enough to convince you, maybe this story out of Montana will help. Tests on three grizzly bears euthanized late last year near Kalispel came back positive for avian flu. It’s presumed the animals contracted the virus by eating infected birds. And coming out
Read & Share sourced from: Montana Free Press
The EPA in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers published the final “Revised Definition of the Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) on Wednesday. The definition will be effective March 20, 2023. It’s a significant action that greatly expands the scope of federal jurisdiction to all those areas captured under the new definition,
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The currently named culprit is Scotchgard; it’s the commercial name for a stain-resistant chemical known as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS for short. It’s part of a larger group of chemicals called PFAS, and the problem is these chemicals persist in the environment for a long time. Scotchgard hasn’t been manufactured in the U.S. for
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
Otter Tail County in Minnesota is taking a chunk out of what goes into its landfill by stopping food waste before it gets there. The County-wide program is focused on schools, healthcare facilities, and restaurants intentionally, as those are the largest producers of landfilled food. For families, the focus is on a backyard solution, home
Read & Share sourced from: InForumThere’s a growing need for mental health professionals in our schools, and the University of Mary is stepping forward to meet it. And with the help of a $6 million Department of Education grant, they’re able to make the graduate-level coursework free for those accepted into their counseling program. Get the full story from the
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New technology has a way of disrupting the status quo. And when it comes to electric car technology, we’re on the eve of a new age of acceleration. It’s a future people both inside and outside of cars are unprepared for, and it’s likely to have consequences. What does it mean? That little extra time
Read & Share sourced from: BloombergThis story may get eyebrow furrows in a place like North Dakota where we’re less in a hurry to get off fossil fuels. After all, we produce a lot of reliable energy with them. But this isn’t a story about climate change, it’s about hedging bets and acknowledging the wave that’s on the horizon. America
Read & Share sourced from: Grist
Our Scandinavian friends in Sweden have made a big discovery — a significant deposit of neodymium and praseodymium. They’re rare earth elements that go into making magnets. Why does it matter in Minot? Because like it or not, we are members of a global community, and in the geopolitics of rare earth elements, China has
Read & Share sourced from: NPR
Removal of at least some of the horses and other non-natural livestock in Teddy Roosevelt National Park is a likely outcome of a pending action from the National Park Service. Jackie Jahfetson with the Bismarck Tribune has the full story linked below, but it boils down to this: The Park Service sees its mission as
Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune