News Source: Associated Press

Western governors back Endangered Species Act, with changes

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The Western Governors Association, an association of 22-western Governors, met in Montana recently. Among the topics of business, a discussion and ultimately a resolution in support of the Endangered Species Act with a few caveats. Some of the concerns are that states have a larger voice in the federal decisions that impact them and that

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Trump tells CEOs he’ll only back shovel-ready infrastructure

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Investing in America’s infrastructure was a common theme throughout President Trump’s campaign, and his rhetoric is now turning towards the issue. The condition he’s placing on the investments he wants to make — that they’re shovel ready. It’s news worth noting here in Minot where we have several hundred million dollars of infrastructure with permitting

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Montana Senate passes broadband internet privacy measure

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

It now seems plausible that with the federal repeal of Internet privacy restrictions on Internet service providers (ISP), we’ll end up with a hodge-podge of state enacted privacy laws. The Montana Senate passed a law barring ISPs the ability to bid on state contracts if they collect customer data without consent. Other states are considering

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

AP Exclusive: Taxes could flow with Dakota Access pipeline

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The Associated Press has done the math, and their results show the pipeline may add as much as $110 million to state coffers annually. The AP paints the issue in the light that ND leaders were in favor of the pipeline because of the dollars. Commentary: if that’s the case, is there anything wrong with

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Commentary: Something Suspicious is Going On With Our Beloved Pizza Corner Pizzas

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Pizza Corner pizza has been a North Dakota favorite for a long time. And the previously-Valley-City owned business was recently sold to a Minnesota-base distributor. But for one pizza connoisseur, the transition isn’t tasting perfectly smooth.

Read & Share   sourced from: Bright Above Fargo

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Fort Berthold Tribal Panel Wants to Regulate Oil Development

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Tribal leaders on the Fort Berthold Reservation are taking the law into their own hands. They’ve formed the West Segment Regulatory Commission, a five-member board that intends to regulate things like oil drilling, background checks, and drug testing. Full story from the Associated Press.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Battle Over Proposed Yellowstone River ‘Dam’ Ramps Up

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Dam is actually misleading, the structure in question is closer to the Souris river cofferdams and is known as a weir. The controversy stems from a 2-mile diversion channel intended to help endangered pallid sturgeon bypass the structure and reach spawning grounds upstream.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Feds Propose Multi-Pronged Plan to Bolster Decline in Bees

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

Reports last week that 2014 was a particularly bad year for honey bees have federal officials calling all hands and activating resources in an attempt to reverse the trend.      

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Education: New Standardized Tests Bring Technical Challenges, Concern

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

In many states, the roll out of new standardized tests has been anything but smooth. In North Dakota, we’re keeping our options open, but get the rundown on the issue from a national picture in this Associated Press coverage.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Official: Some of 63,000-gallon brine spill has reached lake

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

A 63,000 gallon — 2,000 barrel pipeline spill has resulted in some water entering a tributary and likely finding its way into Smishek Lake. Smishek Lake is near Powers Lake, about 75 miles West Northwest of Minot.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Fracking: U.S. Tightens Rules for Chemical Disclosure

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

New Federal regulations will require oil development companies to disclose the chemicals used in their fracking operations that take place on Federal lands.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

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Oil Slump Threatens Easy Life of Affluent Norwegians

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

High oil prices and abundant supply led to a decade of job and income security for many Norwegians, but the dip in the market is changing things a bit.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Watch: Oil Boom Transforms ND Schools

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

We featured an AP story yesterday on the challenges facing Watford City Schools, particularly those related to growth. Watch an accompanying video on that piece that was produced by the AP, and here’s the  original story.  

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Low Prices Raise Alarm in North Dakota Oil Patch

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

The latest national media piece hits all the usual themes, low prices, uncertainty, moving ahead anyway, history of boom and bust, hopeful for a price rebound. You’ve read it before and this won’t be the last one, but when these are published we’ll pass them along.

Read & Share   sourced from: ABC News.com

Report: Sage Grouse Need Three Mile Buffer to Protect Breeding Grounds From Drilling

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

This is the first report on an issue that has the potential to become a big story in energy development. The U.S.G.S. report did not make any management recommendations ahead of a court-ordered September 2015 deadline on conservation measures needed for the species.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press

Early Tests Show No Water Contamination from Bakken Drilling

by: Josh Wolsky  |  

This is good news for everyone on the northern prairie. It suggests that so far… we’ve had responsible, competent drillers working. But the U.S. Geological Survey cautions that results are by no means definitive as it was a relatively small sample size.

Read & Share   sourced from: Associated Press