The number of changes taking place in our culture and society are expansive and extraordinary. They’re not all good; they’re not all bad, either. But denying they’re happening would be a mistake. One change that’s certain to reshape our communities and our culture — the shift away from a citizenship who identify their religion as a
Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American
If there’s anything we’ve learned from this year’s hurricane’s, it’s a lesson on the vulnerability of our power grid. How do we make ourselves more resilient? Perhaps a look north will provide the answer as Alaska’s isolated communities develop blueprints for sustainable, locally generated power infrastructure. It’s a relevant topic for North Dakota because as
Read & Share sourced from: NPR
People often question my judgment for vacationing in Mexico during our cold North Dakota winters. They question how safe it is to be in Mexico because of the murders down there by the various competing drug cartels. The persons in the Mexican drug culture, from my perspective, seem to be killing each other and for
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What does a hundred-year-old law that forces goods transported between American ports to use American-made ships have to do with traffic and L.A. and possibly our economy in North Dakota? Erik Olson asks the question (about the Traffic in L.A. part) and provides the analysis of the trickle down regulatory effect and the unintended consequences. This
Read & Share sourced from: Quartz
Contrary to most, I was not surprised that Congress has failed to repeal and replace “Obamacare”. “Repeal and Replace” has been the unifying slogan of the Republican party since 2009. That slogan may have become fact except for one minor detail. Like the Democratic party, the Republican party is merely a coalition of various diverse
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In Minot, the Mayor’s Committee on Addiction met this week. When it comes to dealing with the effects of the opioid and larger addiction problem, they’re going to divide and hopefully conquer. They’ll be splitting into several sub-committees to deal with different arms of the larger animal. It’s important work, but the method also invites
Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald
There are two companies chasing the concept of the meatless burger, and before you dismiss the idea with some picture of a bean patty or veggie burger, the goal is a burger that looks and tastes like real beef, and they’re closer than you realize. It may seem far-fetched or impossible, but the impacts on ranchers
Read & Share sourced from: Quartz
When agricultural producers use too much fertilizer, the surplus that isn’t absorbed into the land and plants runs off into the water shed. When it gets to the end of the downstream line, it dumps into the ocean or a lake. In North Dakota’s case, one of those end-of-the-line watershed deposits is the Gulf of Mexico.
Read & Share sourced from: NPR
Scott Pruitt, the EPA’s top administrator, will be visiting North Dakota next week, and the Waters of the U.S. rule making is expected to be a hot topic of conversation. Between agricultural and energy industries and our cultural disposition toward property rights, environmental regulations and rules have big impacts on North Dakota, and it sounds
Read & Share sourced from: Williston Herald
The opioid epidemic that’s been discussed so heavily here in Minot is not just a local problem, it extends far beyond North Dakota’s borders. And a White House Commission on the opioid epidemic is now recommending the President declare a national emergency with regards to the issue. Locally, the Mayor’s committee on addiction will meet
Read & Share sourced from: Los Angeles Times
What will the Internet look like if there’s a roll back on the FCC’s net neutrality rules? We’re perhaps getting a taste. Last week, Verizon was caught and then admitted to throttling video content on its network. Basically, that means they slowed down the speed at which they delivered video — intentionally.
Read & Share sourced from: The Verge
The first of a couple articles on the net neutrality issue, Comcast is arguing that the need to provide faster more reliable service to self-driving cars will warrant a competitive pricing model. That means they can charge more for certain types of data traffic. Medical uses and automated cars are the examples they use to
Read & Share sourced from: The Verge
It’s called the East Coast Greenway; it connects Maine to Florida, and it’s being funded by private donors, state, and local governments. The goal is connectivity. Read the full story on Quartz.
Read & Share sourced from: Quartz
The same geological history that produced North Dakota’s coal history may hold additional value in the form of rare earth elements essential to the electronics and defense industries. Extracting those elements is the challenge, but investment from several government agencies is refining the processes to determine the viability long-term. Jessica Holdman with the Bismarck Tribune
Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune
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
If you’re confused by who to trust with regards to the news about the Republican-drafted revision Obamacare, Gisele Grayson with NPR put together a simple chart that outlines the proposed legislation’s impacts. It’s pretty straight forward information from a news source that I still trust operates with healthy dose of professional and journalistic integrity.
Read & Share sourced from: NPR