It’s Coming! – TheMinotVoice.com

Budgeting process a question as counties form ‘human service zones’

by: Josh Wolsky | June 12, 2019

Human services in North Dakota will transition from a county-by-county approach to a regional approach as a result of action by the legislature this past session. But getting there will take some planning and coordinating. Jack Dura with the Bismarck Tribune has the full story on how the future of social services is unfolding.

Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

Walmart wants into your house, literally. Promises to help organize your fridge

by: Josh Wolsky | June 7, 2019

The big retailers Walmart and Amazon are fighting for your money, and they’re taking different approaches to get it. Amazon wants to wow you with speedy drone deliveries. Walmart is betting on your desire to do less, but they’ll need access to your home so they can unpack your groceries while you’re at work. Of

Read & Share sourced from: Inc.

2020 Census likely to change North Dakota’s political landscape

by: Josh Wolsky | May 27, 2019

North Dakota’s population has both grown and shifted over the past 10 years, and when the dust settles following the 2020 count, the political landscape will look different. Rob Port with Say Anything Blog has speculation on where it seems likely more political power is moving to.

Read & Share sourced from: Say Anything Blog.com

New opportunities for old coal plants?

by: Josh Wolsky | May 23, 2019

There aren’t many days that go by that there isn’t a story about a new coal-fired power plant being decommissioned. We lost one in North Dakota last year; yesterday, there was a story out of Estevan on final dates for their plants. Since 2010, nearly 300 of these plants have closed across the country? Political

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

Xcel Energy plans to end coal use in Upper Midwest by 2030

by: Josh Wolsky | May 20, 2019

One of Minnesota and North Dakota’s biggest energy suppliers is on the record with its plan to go greener. Xcel energy announced it will be ending dependence on coal in the Upper Midwest by the end of the next decade. Get the full story from the Bismarck Tribune.

Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

Survey says American churches are in trouble

by: Josh Wolsky | May 20, 2019

If you were running a business and your customer base went from 70% of the population to 50% of the population, what would you do? That’s the environment churches find themselves in over the past 20 years. Lloyd Omdahl writing an opinion piece for Forum Communications has more on the topic.

Read & Share sourced from: InForum

Amazon leasing space in vacant malls

by: Josh Wolsky | May 20, 2019

From a garage 25-years ago to Bezos’s billions today; few companies have turned the world upside down like Amazon. Among the casualties, they’ve left or are leaving behind — vast tracks of under producing real estate we call malls. It’s that same economic disruption (and destruction) Amazon is capitalizing on to take its next step

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North Dakota funeral directors weigh in on the future of final disposition

by: Josh Wolsky | May 20, 2019

In the funeral business, final disposition is the last place we end up. And the business is evolving to reflect the preferences of the people it’s accommodating. The changing nature of funerals was a recent #GoodTalkMinot episode featuring local funeral director Jeff Brose. Now, other local media sources are pursuing the same topic. Check out

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Minot, begin preparing for the loss of our trees and imagining their future

by: Josh Wolsky | May 13, 2019

Loss. It’s a big part of Minot’s story — our story — in recent years. The flood took homes and retirements and schools and lives. Yes, lives. Though the official statistics don’t count them, we all know of someone who was lost due to the exhaustion and stress of the clean-up and rebuild. The rapid

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A wonderful send-off

by: Brose Funeral Home | May 7, 2019

My Gramma Brose lived in Broken Arrow, OK, when she died at the home of her daughter. She had lung problems and moved there from Minneapolis, MN, to get out of the cold, harsh winters. As her health deteriorated and it got to the point her son-in-law had to change her diaper, she decided that

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Two more murals finished in downtown Brandon

by: Josh Wolsky | May 7, 2019

Small towns across the region are tapping local artists to add atmosphere and vibrancy to their communities. Here’s a confirmation story from North of the border. Art is among the keys to making our place in Minot unique, but clearly, we’re not the only place striving to create a unique identity. But the real question

Read & Share sourced from: Brandon Sun

Congress Is Likely to Delay Flood Insurance Overhaul, Again

by: Josh Wolsky | May 2, 2019

The National Flood Insurance Program is set to expire on May 31st. It’s the latest deadline in a long series of short-term extensions, but the clamor to overhaul the system is growing. Catch up with the full political picture in this article from Scientific American.

Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American

Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

by: Josh Wolsky | April 30, 2019

It’s here, figuratively. Literally, we can expect it by the end of the year. It’s the no-meat cheeseburger, and many reports on the topic come with claims that people can’t taste the difference between the Impossible Whopper and the genuine article. Maybe, it’s a marketing gimmick. But meat-substitute stories have been a common topic here

Read & Share sourced from: The Verge

Road infrastructure is expensive, self-driving cars will demand more of it

by: Josh Wolsky | April 23, 2019

For most in Minot, the idea of a self-driving car is pretty far off. For the companies chasing the opportunity, the technology is much closer than most realize. For a community like ours, this shift has big implications. And the common assumption is that when it arrives, self-driving cars will reduce traffic and congestion. But

Read & Share sourced from: Science Alert

The funeral as we know it is becoming a relic – just in time for death boom

by: Josh Wolsky | April 22, 2019

Have you noticed our rituals around death changing? You’re not just imagining it, and as the largest generation in U.S. history begins contemplating end-of-life issues, we’re likely to experience as many changes to the conventional funeral as we’ve seen in other stages of the baby-boomers life experience. The Washington Post has the story.

Read & Share sourced from: The Washington Post

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