Commentary – Page 13 – TheMinotVoice.com

What’s the cure for distracted driving — more or less responsibility?

by: Josh Wolsky | April 10, 2019

Self-driving and driver-assist technology is coming at us at a 65 miles per hour. Culturally, our response to adopt it will be closer to a reflex reaction than a calculated decision based on merits of the technology. But at least one driver is questioning whether more technology is the answer to curing our distracted driving

Read & Share sourced from: New York Times

Orders to Minot?

by: Josh Wolsky | April 9, 2019

At the main gate of Minot Air Force Base the sign reads, “Only the Best Come North.” For those unaccustomed to North Dakota and the challenges and rewards life here presents — the saying seems foreign. But after time, one military spouse found some perspective on being stationed in Minot. Check out this article from

Read & Share sourced from: Military Families

Maybe in Minot, government isn’t all bad?

by: Jim Maxson | March 26, 2019

I credit the Minot Area Development Corporation, of which I am a former board member and chair, for its recent release regarding the largest local employers. Minot Air Force Base, to nobody’s surprise, is the largest local employer. Trinity Health is number two. Minot Public Schools are number three. The City of Minot is number

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#GoodTalkMinot – Middle-earth and Park District 5-Year Planning

by: Josh Wolsky | February 21, 2019

What do Middle-earth, the mythological realm of J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Minot Park District’s 5-year planning process have in common? They’re both topics of this week’s #GoodTalkMinot conversations. On our first hour we’re joined by Director Kena Davidson and Actor Cade Solberg. Out topic: the Magic City Playmaker’s upcoming production of The Hobbit. Watch below to

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City Council Agenda & Alderman Notes: January 22, 3019

by: Josh Wolsky | January 21, 2019

Minot’s City Council will meet Tuesday, January 22, 2019 to consider the following agenda. Below you’ll find the full agenda along with the thoughts of one Alderman on each. And if you’re wondering about the cover image, there’s a related agenda item. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 5:30 PM City Council

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Let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as a free bag

by: Josh Wolsky | December 6, 2018

If you weren’t aware, a group of passionate Minot citizens appealed to Minot’s City Council to take up the issue of single-use plastic — particularly disposable plastic bags. After months of information gathering and taking public comment, the group offered several recommendations intended to curb consumption. One of the primary recommendations is a 10-cent tax

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MSU student life and contributions and entrepreneurship and innovation in the energy sector

by: Josh Wolsky | December 5, 2018

GoodTalk Minot is a weekly collaboration between myself and Jonah Lantto of The Good Talk Network. Our focus: Minot and the people that make it interesting and keep it moving. This past week’s conversations featured the President of Minot State Student Government, Aaron Richard, and one of the founders of the region’s fastest-growing energy sector

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Bismarck’s downtown market analysis to identify business gaps is a call to action for Minot

by: Josh Wolsky | December 4, 2018

Over the past year, Minot’s been host to a ton of conversation about downtown. Both the future of the area and its role as a part of our larger economic engine feature significantly in the City’s International Economic Development Council report delivered last summer. Applecart-upsetting, table-turning, they’re both adjectives that could be used to describe

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Let’s be proud of this, and let’s call it The Igloo!

by: Josh Wolsky | December 3, 2018

It’s back for its second season. Gaze North across the valley, and you’ll notice it; it’s the giant white marshmallow-like structure near the college. We call it the Air Supported Dome — it’s an accurate if not particularly catchy name. And from my perspective, it’s hard to imagine the community getting better bang for our

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City Council Agendas and One Alderman’s Comments

by: Josh Wolsky | November 27, 2018

The City of Minot City Council Committee of the Whole will meet Tuesday and Wednesday at 4:15 at City Hall to consider items on the agendas below. Below you’ll find full agenda items along with links to staff-provided supporting documents. In red, you have the chance to take a peak inside the thinking of one

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Details on Deer Season

by: Doug Leier | November 14, 2018

While North Dakota’s 2018 deer gun season continues through Nov. 25, it still generates a fair amount of questions and conversation preseason, midseason and postseason. First off, this year’s deer hunting season did open later than what a lot of people think is normal. The traditional deer opener for more than three decades has been

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My Year Below Average Part III

by: Josh Wolsky | November 7, 2018

Recap: I dared myself to see if we could keep our home energy consumption below an average of 500 kwh for an entire year. Our house was pretty well-designed for a project like this, and the first few months turned out to be pretty easy. When we finally crunched the numbers in the early part

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My Year Below Average Part II

by: Josh Wolsky | October 30, 2018

Let’s take a moment to recap in case you missed the last column: I am pretty average. I was bored and felt inspired to do something to combat global climate change and I found a whole bunch of cool stats about home energy consumption by state on a website call EnergyLocal. I set a goal

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My Year Below Average Part I

by: Josh Wolsky | October 22, 2018

I would say that I am a pretty average person. The two exceptions might be my intense love of Star Trek and my strong inability to bowl above a 180. (I fully accept that those two things might be correlated…) This last year I set out on a quest to be decidedly below average in

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Are capricious state regulators contributing to ND’s child care shortage?

by: Josh Wolsky | July 17, 2018

Childcare is and has been a continuing challenge in our communities. From a labor perspective, we’ve got a shortage of workers, and one key to entering the workforce is having confidence in where we leave our kids. In this commentary in the Grand Forks Herald, Rob Port argues that the State’s licensing and regulatory agency

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

How America Will Turn Itself Around?

by: Josh Wolsky | July 17, 2018

While a growing minority of us pick which side of the line (on any given issue) to stand on, there’s another group of people losing trust in all of it. Perhaps instead of choosing sides and, thus, who to distrust, we start listening to those who are watching our larger trends? What they’re seeing is

Read & Share sourced from: MPR