MAGIC Fund Skyscopes Request Details.

The Minot Area Development Corporation has brought a request through the MAGIC Fund Screening Committee that will be before City Council tonight. I’ve been looking into the request for the past week or so, and have written some commentary on it which you can read here. But the details of the request are best left

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Questions & Concerns With Handing Over $375,000 to Anyone

First and foremost, I applaud Stephanie Hoffart and her team at MADC for developing a prospect as exciting as Skyscopes. Between the Air Force, the oil and energy industries, and the ag business, the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) industry is a great fit for Minot. It would be awesome if our little town can carve

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Liquor License Violation Dismissed Against Motorcycle Club

The Ice Cold Ryders Motorcycle Club was facing charges of selling alcohol without a license, but those charges have been dismissed based on a motion filed by the State’s Attorney. Assets seized are also expected to be ordered returned.

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March City Manager’s Report

Minot’s recently-new City Manager, Tom Barry, spent much of the last three months on what he describes as a ‘listening tour’. It was method he used to get to know Minot before really digging into the priorities of the City. That tour is now complete, and Mr. Barry used this month’s City Manager’s Report in

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We Can No Longer Afford the Hypocrisy

Good Morning Senator Hogue and Senator Larsen, I’m writing to provide a last minute appeal for House Bill 1163 regarding the removal of North Dakota’s Sunday closing laws. And because this debate is just the latest in a series at both the state and local level that has me concerned, I’m publishing this letter publicly

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City Council and Staff in the Dark over CDM Smith Low-Income Housing Activities

A committee created to advise City Council on how to spend portions of the $74.3 million National Disaster Resilience Competition award is off to a less-than-transparent start. The Minot Affordable Housing Advisory Committee met for the first time on February 15, and according to minutes, the committee is made up of members of CDM Smith

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On the Record: Local Legislators Comment on Flood Protection Funding

House Bill 1020 is the State Water Commission appropriations bill. It’s a big deal for Minot because it’s the Water Commission that contributes money to flood protection. In other words, if the Water Commission is appropriated money for flood protection, then Minot has a chance at getting some of those dollars. The bill was passed

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Flood Protection Funding Coming into Focus

Jill Schramm with the Minot Daily has an update on Minot’s efforts to find funding for the long-term flood protection plan. An appropriation bill in the legislature is through the House and, if it holds together, it secures the state’s share of the first four phases. What’s less clear is how we’ll go funding our

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Committee Continues Work Stamping Out Nuisance Weeds

A City of Minot Ad Hoc Committee on nuisance weeds continues to make progress towards a plan that will allow the City to more effectively manage properties where weeds and construction debris become an eyesore and problem for surrounding property owners. The method proposed: enhancing existing tools and upping enforcement. Jill Schramm with the Minot

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Flood Protection: A Penny Could Pay For It

The City of Minot’s Sales Tax Ad Hoc Committee met yesterday for the second time. The committee is still in the information gathering process, and one of the presenters yesterday was SRJB Project Administrator Ryan Ackerman. He provided the committee with his analysis of paying our local share of flood protection, and it looks like

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A Detailed Look at Engineering Floodwalls and Removable Openings

Following last month’s City Council discussion and vote to add an opening in the Phase 1 floodwall at the Anne Street Bridge, I followed up with SRJB Project Administrator Ryan Ackerman regarding several topics that came out in that debate. Most notably, I was concerned with the idea that removable floodwall structures were in some

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First Step Towards Recycling

The City of Minot will take its first step towards a citywide recycling program starting in January. A fee increase will help cover deficits that have been running in the sanitation department as wells as $600,000 in the budget for 2017 will cover the acquisition of automated trucks and city-provided bins. Jill Schramm with the

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These Individuals Deserve All Our Thanks!

Yesterday, I put pictures of our City Engineer and Public Works Director on the Internet and questioned whether we have a system that gives the City of Minot the best chance of success. It was a difficult piece to publish because asking hard questions and questioning outcomes is uncomfortable business. Today, you’re getting a very

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What if they’re wrong?

Minot’s a small town in a slow economic time, and the City’s contracts for roads and sewers and flood protection are the fattest ones around. And the two most powerful people in town when comes to delivering those professional services contracts to engineering firms and paving the way for contractors and developers? It’s our Public

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A Growing List of Questions on Integrity and Maintenance

Bias at the top: I’ve been a vocal supporter of the opening in floodwall near the Anne Street Bridge. And if you haven’t been following the story, you can catch up on the coverage here. Last Monday, City Council voted 8-6 against a motion to amend Minot’s Phase 1 flood protection plans to add a

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The Missing Main Street Opening Wasn’t the Only Flaw in Phase 1

Last Monday, City Council took up the issue of adding an opening in the floodwall at Main Street. It’s been a topic of discussion and commentary here on The Minot Voice since last spring, but it ramped up recently with news that there were also discussions taking place to remove the Anne Street Bridge. Council

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