An ardent supporter of open records and meeting reform, Mr. Port has been asked to serve on a task force that will address the issue. In this commentary, he outlines four critical steps necessary to making our governments more open, transparent, and accessible.
Read & Share sourced from: Say Anything Blog.comTo what extent does increased Internet access lead to higher levels of government transparency? A study of the U.S. midwest found varying degrees of Internet usage by local governments, but education level of the citizenship seems to be the most common indicator of transparent governments.
Read & Share sourced from: London School of Economics
Did you catch Jill Schramm’s article in the Minot Daily News on Minot’s Disaster Resilience Competition meeting? If not, it’s worth your time to read it and see the projects local leaders are recommending for Minot. The window to complete Minot’s Phase II application is short, so it’s great that we’re organizing quickly to give
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New technology allows for new tools, new automation, and new methods in local government. And if we implement them wisely, we’ll become more responsive and more resilient. Get the rundown on the win win opportunities available on the municipal leadership landscape.
Read & Share sourced from: Knight Foundation BlogCommunication is a big issue in Minot right now, it’s one of the reasons The Minot Voice exists and this article from O’Reilly.com offers some ideas about how government can make their important news more consumable. Minot needs these ideas now.
Read & Share sourced from: O'Reilly.comSubscribe to Today in Minot!
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Here’s the comment from a representative of the North Dakota Newspaper Association, “I think that North Dakota still has one of the finest open record and open meeting laws in the country, … there are a few glitches, here and there, that need to be worked out.”
Read & Share sourced from: Dickinson Press
You’ll see The Minot Voice harp on open government and transparency over and over again, but this time we don’t have to do it because Rod St. Aubyn writing at Say Anything has chosen to carry the torch for a little while.
Read & Share sourced from: Say Anything Blog.com
Transparent, open government is a keystone principle of The Minot Voice and flinging the doors open is a great way to build trust and encourage engagement. You’ll see us harp on it a lot, and in Minot we need to move beyond traditional ideas of ‘open’.
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Oil field spills have been in the news recently, and Emily Guerin takes a look at North Dakota’s reporting policies and procedures. The article exposes some problematic practices that I have also noticed when trying to gather data from the Department of Mineral Resources website.
Read & Share sourced from: Inside Energy
Stutsman County is making a big step towards more open (and accessible) government by adopting a software tool developed to improve transparency and interaction. Full details from the Jamestown Sun.
Read & Share sourced from: Jamestown Sun
If you were hoping Ward County might someday soon put property tax records online, you’ll have to call your County Commissioner. The Legislature won’t be compelling counties to do anything.
Read & Share sourced from: Say Anything Blog.comSubscribe to Today in Minot!
It's the free, easy way to stay informed about what's happening in Minot, and it helps support independent local news and journalism.
With all the reports of open meeting violations we’ve seen over the last year, particularly from the State Board of Higher Education, perhaps it is time for the law to have some teeth.
Read & Share sourced from: Say Anything Blog.com
Do lawmakers and the public need more transparency from local governments? A legislative resolution calling for just that got a unanimous ‘do pass’ recommendation from the Senate Political Subdivisions Committee.
Read & Share sourced from: Say Anything Blog.com