Fargo employers discuss ways to keep employee gatherings relevant and effective

Kill the meeting! Well, not completely, but Fargo employers are adapting to new ways of thinking and one of the old ideas that’s slowly going the way of the dodo bird — staff get-togethers. It turns out that meeting for meeting sake is a great way to kill morale and stifle productivity. Business owners take

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Paddlers promote ‘positive trace ethic’ by cleaning up litter along Minnesota, St. Croix and Mississippi rivers

The old mantra for the environmentally minded heading into the wilderness was, “take only pictures, leave only footprints”. But for a few, it seems that’s not good enough. The concept is called adventure stewardship, and the goal is to go out and have the fun recreationally but leave the environment better as a result. In

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

The Netherlands, always vulnerable to floods, has a new approach to water management

Most of Netherlands is no more than a few feet above sea level, and they’ve suffered major floods many times throught the past hundred years. Sound familiar? They’re approach and experience with flood protection is worth noting as we move along here in Minot. The whole article is worth a read, but the pieces that

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First tech, now financing: U.S. shale firms get creative to pump more oil

Necessity is the mother of invention, and we’ve experienced that first hand here in the North Dakota oil patch. The necessity was to survive an OPEC supply assault intended to force shale operators out of the market with lower prices. The invention was better, more efficient ways to drill. And as the term of the

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What a Reinvented College Looks Like: 4 Alternative Higher-Ed Models

In the article below, you’ll find a call from an influential North Dakota blogger to close some of North Dakota’s higher education institutions. It’s a sign that it’s time to challenge conventional thinking when it comes to education. To that end, this article from EdSurge is timely; it provides examples of schools and higher-education-esque start-ups

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The Fargo area is short on workers. A new coordinated effort is trying to change that

A collaborative effort between the Fargo Chamber and the North Dakota State School of Science is intended to help solve the area’s ongoing worker shortage problems. One goal of the program will be to better integrate high school students and coursework with post-secondary education offered through the State School of Sciences and other associate degree programs.

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ND coal studying supply of valuable rare earth elements

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

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Burgum appointees bring private sector experience to government jobs

Governor Burgum ran his campaign for the office on the idea that his experience in the private sector and the software would position him well for implementing government reform. A few months removed from the close of the legislative session, we’re now getting a sense of the delivery approach that’s being taken through many of

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Part II: Inside the jail where inmate’s fate was sealed

Kim Fundingsland takes us into the Ward County Jail and the culture that existed there before the Dustin Irwin tragedy and now after the reforms have been and are being put into place. Learning from this mistake is the perhaps the least and the most we can do.

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Dickinson looks at road recycling practices

In Dickinson this week, a 3,000-foot section of road was rebuilt in just two days. The project was used as a demonstration of a road-recycling process that may deliver significant cost savings and increased efficiency. The Dickinson Press has the story on a topic that’s relevant everywhere — better roads that cost less money.

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Using the arts to think bigger

The Executive Director of Fargo’s The Arts Partnership is on a new mission to turn the entire Fargo community into an arts incubator. And in doing so, she believes the entire community from citizens to students and businesses to non-profits will benefit.

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

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

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

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

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Automated Garbage Roll Out Coming Soon

The roll-out of Minot’s automated garbage pick-up service is weeks away. The issue has generated lots of community conversation in the past months, and speaking to many of those concerns, Jill Schramm with the Minot Daily provides some timely reporting on the initiative.

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Winnipeg’s “Go to the Waterfront” Campaign Opens Trail

The City of Winnipeg is working to make their neighborhoods stronger and more resilient, encouraging people and families to get out and be active through the “Go to the Waterfront” initiative. Here’s the direct quote from the Winnipeg Free Press article on the ribbon cutting of for a new waterfront trail. The Go to the Waterfront

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

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