2016 was a year for the books. I read a lot more this year, and listened to a lot of good music, so that’s a good thing. On the other hand, as demographics and biology would decree, our Greatest Generation and Baby Boomer heroes passed away at a seemingly increasing rate—time even started catching up […]
Diverging Diamond Dropping In On Cheyenne
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” […]
Behind the Bakken Boom
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 […]
Western Planners Get Smart About Energy, Revitalization and Transportation
Energy development, smart growth and transportation planning were the topics of choice at the 2012 Western Planner Conference in Billings, Montana. Western Planner brings together professionals from just west of SRDC’s borders to Alaska, many of whom work in small towns and rural areas. Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, now President of the Smart Growth […]
Streetscape Spearfish
When I’m motoring along I-90 I try to stop over at Spearfish, on the north side of South Dakota’s Black Hills. It’s a nice small town where the modern motorist’s amenities haven’t managed to cannibalize the historic downtown Main Street. Recently Main Street got a rebuild and the community got streetscaping to go along with […]
Beacon Power Pulls the Plug
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 […]
Gone to Camp
I am off to Scout camp. In the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, sometimes you have to set Living aside if you want to experience Life: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had […]
Originality + Action = #OTA11
[v=k8waqwf1rBA] Innovation is the stuff of legend. Yet we understand so little about the process. Is the creative spirit in our nature or our nuture? Is it competitive or collaborative? Is it the chicken? Or is it the egg? Yes. That’s the answer I took home from the OtA Sessions—Originality and Action thnkfest in Sioux […]
Wind Energy Looking Up For 2011
Press Release U.S. wind energy industry finishes 2010 with half the installations of 2009, activity up in 2011, now cost-competitive with natural gas Industry weathers latest boom-bust cycle as utilities move to lock in more wind power at favorable long-term rates Washington, D.C. – America’s wind industry built 5,115 megawatts of wind power last year, […]
USDA Jobs Roundtable 6 Jan at NDSS
USDA TO HOST FORUM ON JOBS, ECONOMIC GROWTH Business Owners, Residents, Community Leaders Invited to Share Ideas on Creating Jobs Huron, SD, December 17, 2009 – USDA Rural Development State Director Elsie M. Meeks and USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Craig Schaunaman announced today that the state office will hold a forum on […]
