Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Americana
It used to be that at the very least you could count on the trains running on time. Not anymore. The Red River Farm Network out of Grand Forks, ND, has great coverage of agricultural issues across the northern Great Plains of Minnesota, the Dakotas and somewhat into Montana. In this week’s news digest, they […]
Friends, I am looking for a new job. As a seasoned Development Professional, I am considering opportunities in Community and Economic Development, primarily across the Mountain West and Upper Midwest states. I have particular experience in long-range community and regional planning, infrastructure, and strategic planning. I have particular interest in how communities thrive in the New […]
The financial path our cities are on is fast falling apart, as our Suburban experiment of the last half-century shows its age. Our future prosperity depends on the ability of local leaders to transform their communities. How do we do that? That’s what Charles Marohn came to town to talk about, bringing his Strong Towns […]
[v=3PP2Old8jo4] Intelligent Community Forum partners with Blandin Foundation to close the digital divide for rural Minnesota communities Published Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:00 am $6.6 million project monitored 11 communities over two years and tracked increases as high as 60% in the use of broadband to boost their economies (New York City, New York, 12 […]
Broadband is essential infrastructure for the 21st century. Just as paved roads, electricity and drinking water supported development in the last century, broadband communications is required for development today. Yet as author William Gibson said, “the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed yet.” Hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors […]
The Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) seems to be the “next big thing” coming in traffic engineering, and it’s coming to Wyoming. I’m a confirmed skeptic. The idea of the DDI is to reduce left-turn conflicts and increase traffic through-put by crossing traffic lanes (diverging) across an interchange. If you’re traveling east-bound, for example, you “diverge” […]
North Dakota surpassed Alaska this summer to become the 2nd largest oil-producing state in America, behind Texas. There are 1/3 more wells now producing 3/4 more oil than a year ago and over twice as much crude produced as two years ago. Most of those wells are in the Williston Basin’s Bakken Formation, a shale […]
When you find your self in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. The problem is, continuing worn out euphemisms, when your only tool is a shovel you tend to think every hole needs to be deeper. “Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results” – Narcotics Anonymous, 1982 The front page […]
It may be darkest just before the dawn, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much of any light shining out of the US Department of Energy’s Energy Policy Act loan guarantee program. First solar energy manufacturer Solyndra went lights out in September. The end of October, now, brought us news that energy storage (back-up power supply) firm Beacon […]
This is a bit of inside baseball for the municipal services set, but I was intrigued this week by a post on the The Midwest Planning BLUZ: Iowa State University Extension’s Blog on Land Use and Zoning. I started following this source during Minnesota’s recent legislative revisions to zoning variance statutes. I struggle to say […]
