News Source: Quartz

Finland has a migration crisis, too: Smart, young professionals are moving out

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

“They leave Finland because of poor employment opportunities and future prospects. This has been happening for a long time… The difference with today’s migrants is they are better educated and leaving a welfare state that ranks as one of the best places to live in the world according to most indices.” Sound familiar? Finland is

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

A huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will soon change how you order seafood

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The headline is direct from the Quartz article, so the implications of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone won’t likely soon change the way we order seafood here in North Dakota — because we don’t order a lot of seafood. But we are opposed to the Waters of the U.S. rule here, which has been

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

US Supreme Court decision redefines the line between church and state

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The doctrine of separation of church and state in American is embedded deeply into our culture. But where and how we separate the two will now likely change as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. Quartz has the story on the case and the implications of the ruling.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Seattle’s minimum-wage increase made the most vulnerable workers poorer

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

In the battle for a higher minimum wage, the logic seems clear; raise wages for the lowest earners among us to bring them closer to a living wage. It’s great in intention, but it would now seem that in real world practice, it doesn’t play out that way. Seattle has gone through two significant minimum

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

How Sweden is pushing toward the seemingly impossible goal of zero emissions

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Our distant Scandinavian relatives have built themselves some pretty sustainable energy infrastructure, just 5% of Sweden’s energy comes from fossil fuels. But they’ve set an even higher goal — be 100% sustainable by 2045. And the problems they have to solve in order to get there and the manner in which they’re attempting to solve

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

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A new player in the meat market… plants

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

North Dakota is beef country; we run cattle and order steak. But outside of North Dakota in food labs and corporate boardrooms, there’s been a long fought effort to produce beef that doesn’t come from cows. They’re getting closer. Read the article on Quartz about a new plant-based meat substitute that earned a heady praise

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Africa is now the world’s testing ground for commercial drones

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

North Dakota likes to think of itself as a leader in UAS investment. And in the U.S., we are. But on a global scale, strict U.S. regulations are dampening the industries ability to advance at the pace dictated by commercial demands and technical ability. In Africa, regulatory burdens aren’t a problem there we’re seeing drones

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

The most forward-thinking, future-proof college in America teaches every student the exact same stuff

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

There are few debates raging more loudly in North Dakota and nationally than the one over higher education, its value, and its future. But one college has maintained it’s role and is now emerging as a leader in producing capable students, and they’ve done so by through strict adhearance to an old-fashioned idea, the classical,

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Google is positioning its new job-search product as an effort to save America

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Disruption in the job market, as well as a general shortage of workers, has led Google to step into problem solving mode for America. Google strength is information gathering and aggregating, and they’re hoping to leverage those abilities into creating an aggregate job board that better connects workers and companies. Quartz has the story.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Autonomous, Self-Driving Cars are Coming, Want to Know When?

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Whether you like it or not, car manufacturers, tech companies, and ride sharing companies are competing like crazy to win the race to deliver the fully autonomous, self-driving car. This technology is coming and there’s nothing we can do about it. But if you want to see some prognostication on when, check out this article

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

To build an amazing team, look for people who challenge you

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

It’s relevant commentary as the citizens of Minot take up the conversation of choosing the team that will lead the City this June. It turns out there is a roadmap to choosing a management make-up that consistently delivers results, and though the correlation with civic government isn’t perfect, but there are some concepts to worth

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

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There’s a good reason why Nordic people look so damn healthy

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The data shows that our Scandinavian relatives get the recommended 2.5 hours of exercise per week, and more often than not, the get it outside. Perhaps coincidentally, Scandinavians also rate high on measures of happiness and well-being.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Hate crimes on the rise? A complete guide to the data

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Since the election, there have been numerous incidents of hate crimes and race-based invective in the news. But are these incidents on the rise? Anecdotally, it sure seems that way but it is a difficult question to answer definitively because there is relatively little data available to researchers.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Finland is going to ban coal within 14 years

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The transition alway from coal will be economically disruptive. Here in North Dakota, we are rightfully resistant as we have so many jobs and livelihoods dependent on it. President Trump may get us a reprieve, but the reality we have to face is one where coal is not a dominant player in our economy. Finland has

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

How to make the perfect mashed potatoes, according to science

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Science is the method by which progressional learning takes place. We theorize about the effect of a particular action, test whether it’s true, evaluate the results, and repeat the process. And that scientific method has now been applied to what was previously the art of making mashed potatoes. Learn how here, and if any readers

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

What.cd is gone: A eulogy for the greatest music collection in the world

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Alas, what.cd, I never knew you. Described as the modern era’s musical Library of Alexandria, what.cd was a repository of all the world’s music. And now it’s gone. This is worth a read in the hopes that we might find a way to prevent history from repeating itself at some point in the future.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz