When the snow falls and has to be moved, it’s the parked cars that become the biggest problems. There’s just no way to push snow over the top of them. The solution isn’t fun, but it is effective, if it’s used. And in Minneapolis, street snow is has caused enough challenges this season that they’re
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
What do you do when there’s snow and so many parked cars that it begins to make the streets too narrow and dangerous? In Minneapolis, the answer is elegant. Implement a snow emergency law that only allows parking on one side of the street. And then there’s this story from the Star Tribune, too. If
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
From pet insurance to flexible scheduling, business owners in Minnesota are innovating out of need, and the need is to adapt and survive amidst a challenging market for employees. It matters in Minot because our economy and businesses are facing the same pressures, so any ideas we can take from other places is worth a
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
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
Has the mail been a topic of any of your recent conversations? If you’re in Minot, the answer is likely yes. Mail delivery delays and lost mail, they’re challenges many in Minot including the post office are dealing with. But are we alone in this problem? Not at all. One customer that’s really feeling it
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
Farming is the biggest business in this part of the Northern plains, and it’s a very difficult business to break into due to high land costs. And last year in Minnesota the legislature set aside money to address the issue by making grant dollars available for qualifying new farmer land purchases. The program opened recently,
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
If there’s no one to look after the kids, then there’s no one to look after the business. It’s a common story in communities across the country and Minot is no exception. It matters because a lack of child care is a significant choke point on economic development because if businesses can’t find the people
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
A little further down in the feed you’ll find a story about how Toronto is working to add a lot of housing units in the next 10 years. In Duluth, they’re working toward the same goal, adding housing units. And their approach is similar to Toronto — deregulation. Specifically, Duluth has made tiny homes legal
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
Until a few years ago, a Texas Roadhouse franchise was a regular on Rochester’s best restaurant lists. Not so, today. And it’s nothing against Texas Roadhouse — the change is that several locally owned unique restaurants have opened their doors. And it’s the source of business ownership that’s worth noting — it’s the trailing spouses
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
If you’re a fan of vikings — our Scandinavian ancestors, not the football team — you might appreciate a trip to Minneapolis this summer to check out the traveling exhibit on display at the American Swedish Institute. “The Vikings Begin” is on display until the end of October, you’ll find artifacts and emerging theories on
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
Typically, cars reign supreme on the streets, but for six days this summer, 22 blocks of Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis will be reclaimed by people; no cars allowed. Last year the events drew nearly 45,000 people who simply wanted to enjoy their ‘place’ without the threat or worry introduced by the motoring public. Get the
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
In Minneapolis, one City Council member proposed limiting landlords from rejecting potential tenants based on credit, past evictions, and criminal histories. The intent behind the policy — ensuring those with a checkered past have a chance to clean their slate. Landlords, property management companies and developers are pushing back with arguments that the policy will
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
When an invasive species takes root, it’s often the sign of an unfortunate end to a favorite place. But in Grand Lake, near Rockville, MN, the hopeful solution was biblical — painstaking labor. And after a couple years of disciplined hand pulling the starry stonewort from the water, they’ve got the plant on the run.
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
It’s fair to say we’re now fully into spring, but we still see — and feel — the consequences of winter when we travel down our roads. Pot holes are bumpy roads are easy targets for ever-critical citizens; they’re not wrong to notice them — the potholes are real. But what’s the root cause of
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
It started early and it’s still going; I’m talking about flood season and flood season media coverage across the country. In Minnesota, they’re asking the questions about what it really means to be in a 100-year flood plain if the water comes every few years. Whether it’s nature that’s changing or some form of observation
Read & Share sourced from: MPR
Have you noticed changes in the way you get local news? In Minot, we’re not immune to these shifts — not long ago we felt the impact of a corporate acquisition of a local news company and the resulting consolidation. Now, much of KX News shows are produced out of Bismarck. And if we expand
Read & Share sourced from: MPR