Preliminary results are in on the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Following the long-term trend, USDA counted fewer larger farms, much fewer in some states like Minnesota, and actually a few more in others like Wyoming. And farmers are getting older. Full figures due in May. The USDA Press Release gives the details: Value of Sales […]
Mapping the Census Flow
Americans are on the move. About 20,000 more people moved from Los Angeles County, California, to nearby San Bernardino County, than in the opposite direction in 2007-2011. The US Census Bureau has released new migration statistics based on their American Community Survey 5-year running average. While I really don’t trust ACS for smaller, especially rural, places, […]
No Net Neutrality for Amtrak on the Hi-Line
NPR this morning followed-up on my blog yesterday on the boom in rail freight, especially in the Bakken. Amtrak’s Empire Builder follow’s James J Hill’s pioneering Great Northern Railway route, from Chicago & the Twin Cities to Fargo, then parallel to US 2 (the “Hi-Line”) across North Dakota and Montana to points Northwest. Oil business […]
Railroads riding the Bakken Boom
Rail roads seem to define America, from the Golden Spike to the Singing Brakeman. We love them, we hate them, we ride them, we wait for them. The rail industry, however, isn’t waiting for us, growing traffic where it can. Recently the rail industry has been in the spotlight, pro and con, as the work […]
Zombie Subdivisions
A new study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (Lincoln Land Institute, LLI) and the Sonoran Institute found that over 20% of the subdivision parcels in Laramie County, WY, are currently undeveloped. That makes for an inventory of almost 7,500 subdivided building lots, not even counting the numerous 35+ acre tracts never subject to […]
Do You Want To Be My Boss?
Laramie County needs a new Planning & Development Director. The hitch? You have to put up with me (or at least I hope you would put up with me). Located in beautiful southeast Wyoming, in the state capital of Cheyenne, Laramie County anchors the north end of the Denver Front Range. Slow and steady growth […]
Chaotic and Messy > Orderly and Dumb
H/T to StrongTowns Blog for a News Digest item on a Bloomberg op-ed/ investigative/ advocacy journalism piece on my college state of Illinois. Chuck’s commentary hits a couple hot buttons (e.g. “economic development” vs “industrial recruitment”) and, well, how much Illinois in general is messed up. When Chuck Marohn visited Laramie a couple weeks ago, […]
An Intervention in the Cult of Expertise: Noreena Hertz and Eyes Wide Open
This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing [anything]. On the other hand, I – equally ignorant – do not believe [that I know anything]. – Socrates, in Plato’s Apology The more I learn, the less I know. This is the age of “Big Data”, with a priesthood of experts […]
County OKs wind turbine for Wal-Mart distribution center
Made the local newspaper today. They didn’t spell my name right, but they got the gist of the story straight. Fairfield Energy Partners proposed to build a single 2.5 MW direct-drive wind turbine on an 80-meter tower, at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center west of Cheyenne. The Large Wind Energy System (WES) would provide peaking power […]
Strong Towns Focus on People, Not Just Their Cars
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 […]