Business & Economy – Page 10 – TheMinotVoice.com

Minneapolis City Council gives tentative approval to $15 minimum wage

by: Josh Wolsky | June 29, 2017

It appears the minimum wage experiments in cities across the U.S. will continue. Minneapolis is the latest large city to take up the economically-controversial topic with a proposal to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour. Seattle recently implemented their own mandated wage increase, and in that case, there’s data that suggest the policy backfired.

Read & Share sourced from: Star Tribune

Seattle’s minimum-wage increase made the most vulnerable workers poorer

by: Josh Wolsky | June 27, 2017

In the battle for a higher minimum wage, the logic seems clear; raise wages for the lowest earners among us to bring them closer to a living wage. It’s great in intention, but it would now seem that in real world practice, it doesn’t play out that way. Seattle has gone through two significant minimum

Read & Share sourced from: Quartz

Oil country eases into break from frantic growth

by: Josh Wolsky | June 26, 2017

Did the oil bust in Western North Dakota? Though we all know it slowed down, it doesn’t seem like ‘bust’ is the correct description. And the same can be said for at least some of the outside media coverage of North Dakota’s new oil reality. This article is passed along to get a sense of

Read & Share sourced from: Star Tribune

Oil climbs on weaker dollar, but rise in U.S. drilling drags

by: Josh Wolsky | June 26, 2017

The number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. has been growing in recent months and so has the oil output. Both have combined to put downward pressure on the price of oil which has recently risen above the lows produced by a 7-month downward trend.

Read & Share sourced from: Reuters

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

by: Josh Wolsky | June 26, 2017

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

Bakken leads rig count increase

by: Josh Wolsky | June 23, 2017

There are a lot of barometers we can use to measure the amount of activity taking place in the oil field and which direction it’s heading, and one of them is the rig count; that’s the number of active drilling rigs working in North Dakota. And the news is slanting slightly towards the positive. Last month

Read & Share sourced from: Bakken.com

Grand Forks Voters choose to build on Arbor Park after close vote

by: Josh Wolsky | June 21, 2017

Grand Forks residents narrowly chose economic activity and a new development in downtown Grand Forks over keeping a park that was put in place following the 1997 flood. But a quote from Grand Forks City Council President Dana Sande is perhaps most telling in how the City will move forward. “The thing that should never be

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Evidence for a New Economic Development Model?

by: Josh Wolsky | May 11, 2017

Economic growth, economic diversity, these are buzzwords in North Dakota and in Minot right now. The City’s NDR application talks about it; our consultant on the project, CDM Smith, even has a $300,000 budget to create an ‘Economic Development Strategic Plan for Minot & Ward County’. We also have the MAGIC fund, a sales-tax-funded pot

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Shakeup at IRET Results in Leadership Transition to Minneapolis

by: Josh Wolsky | April 28, 2017

One of Minot’s larger employers, IRET, is going through a company transition that will result in significant operating changes. In a news release available on the IRET website, the company announced the retirement and pending retirement of several top executives. In addition to the personnel shakeup, the company also announced that those filling new leadership roles will

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Fact Checking Claims About Economic Incentives

by: Josh Wolsky | April 6, 2017

In the doldrums of the oil downturn, economic resiliency, development, and diversity have never been more important. And it’s become apparent — especially here in Minot where we see evidence of businesses closing almost weekly, that we haven’t been very good at creating any of those things. Perhaps it’s because we’re using the wrong methods.

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Experts tell Fargo audience Bakken is set for a comeback

by: Josh Wolsky | April 5, 2017

The Fargo Chamber of Commerce hosted a couple Bakken-vested business leaders at recent breakfast gathering and the message they delivered was one ringing with optimism. Kathy Neset of Neset Consulting and Rob Lindberg, Director of Bakken Backers suggest the numbers tell the story, and it’s one still full of unrealized potential. In the Bakken, we’ve

Read & Share sourced from: InForum

Shoe retailer Payless files for bankruptcy; hundreds of stores expected to close

by: Josh Wolsky | April 5, 2017

Another day and another story of a major national retailing filing for bankruptcy. The economic disruption caused by the Internet and online retailers like Amazon is just starting to ripple through our communities in a manner we can see and touch. No word yet on if Minot’s Payless ShoeSource will be among the 400 stores

Read & Share sourced from: Forbes

Simple oil field invention could save lives

by: Josh Wolsky | April 3, 2017

A Watford City welder with a good idea that makes the oil-field safer is taking his idea to an Innovation and Energy competition sponsored by Tioga’s Economic Development arm. But the idea is already in production and orders are coming in. Check out the story on the Bismarck Tribune.

Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

ND Senate Approves Bill That Reduces Oil Spill Reporting

by: Josh Wolsky | March 30, 2017

A bill that wold reduce the reporting requirements on oil and produced-water spills continues to progress through the legislature. House Bill 1151 eliminates the requirement to report spills of less than 10 barrels (420 gallons) that are contained on a drill site. Amy Dalrymple provides a deeper look at the details at The Oil Patch

Read & Share sourced from: Oil Patch Dispatch

Pipeline System That Leaked At Risk Of Future Failures, Regulators Say

by: Josh Wolsky | March 30, 2017

Estimates of a pipeline spill from back in December are growing in size, and the early conclusions of regulators investigating the incident are increasingly troubling. Amy Dalrymple has the report on the Belle Fourche Pipeline spill that’s now estimated to have released approximately 530,000 gallons. The initial cause is believed to be slumping ground; it’s also possible

Read & Share sourced from: Oil Patch Dispatch

North Dakota oil output set to rise as controversial pipeline opens

by: Josh Wolsky | March 30, 2017

The Dakota Access pipeline is in the process of coming online; it’s expected to save the local producers $540 million annually in shipping costs. The lower costs will make the oil field more competitive, and signs of growth are already on the horizon. The pipeline will have the capacity for 500,000 barrels per day; the $540 million translates

Read & Share sourced from: Reuters