Outside & Opposing Perspectives

Regina Making the Most of Winter with New Full Moon Festival, Suds & Sweaters, and Frost Festival

by: Josh Wolsky | January 31, 2023

How do you take a new music and arts festival to a cosmic level right out of the gates? Schedule it in conjunction with a full moon, and build up to it with quarter moon and half moon celebrations. The Winter Moon Festival premiered last week in Regina; the focus of the multi-venue event music,

Read & Share sourced from: Regina Leader Post

Saskatchewan nursing union says recruitment plan to address worker shortage moving too slow

by: Josh Wolsky | January 30, 2023

It doesn’t matter where you look, recruitment of workers and staffing are the challenges facing communities. This story from The Regina Leader-Post highlights the Saskatchewan’s provincial need for nurses. Those on the job are burning out at a faster and faster rate, and the impact on health care is becoming evident. What are they doing

Read & Share sourced from: Regina Leader Post

Why do Wyoming legislators import other states’ worst laws?

by: Josh Wolsky | January 30, 2023

From gender and LBGTQ+ issues to banning library books, one long-time Wyoming reporter and columnist is wondering why his state legislators insist on importing bad ideas from other places. It’s a question especially relevant as state legislatures around the country seem to be tackling all the same culture issues at the same moment. Read the

Read & Share sourced from: WyoFile

South Dakota extends in-state tuition to Wisconsin, Illinois

by: Josh Wolsky | January 29, 2023

The goal is to attract students; then the goal is to retain them. And to do it, South Dakota is lower its tuition by offering in-state tuition to two new states, Wisconsin and Illinois. South Dakota already provides in-state tuition to students from North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. Get the full story from the

Read & Share sourced from: Associated Press

Minnesota businesses get creative amid worker shortage

by: Josh Wolsky | January 27, 2023

From pet insurance to flexible scheduling, business owners in Minnesota are innovating out of need, and the need is to adapt and survive amidst a challenging market for employees. It matters in Minot because our economy and businesses are facing the same pressures, so any ideas we can take from other places is worth a

Read & Share sourced from: MPR

Grand Forks School Board members discuss future of Central High School swimming pool

by: Josh Wolsky | January 27, 2023

The Grand Forks school district is losing it’s home for Central High School swim teams, and they’re looking at a partnership with the Grand Forks Park District to solve the problem. The GF Park District is exploring development of a community aquatics center; the extension of a .75% sales tax is the proposed funding source.

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

How a Country Embraced the River It Feared

by: Josh Wolsky | January 26, 2023

Few places fight floods as well as the Netherlands, but when it comes to their flood defenses, it’s the ocean-side efforts that get the attention. Lesser known is the degree to which they are innovatively managing their inland flooding risk from the River Waal. While no two rivers and no two floods are exactly alike,

Read & Share sourced from: Reasons To Be Cheerful

Brandon Manitoba Prioritizes Global citizenship, It’s Making a Difference

by: Josh Wolsky | January 26, 2023

For almost three decades, our prairie neighbors to the North in Brandon have been making a point to think globally and act locally. It’s more than a call to action, it’s a call to decency. And one citizen is selected annually and recognized. It’s a small award for a big idea, you can learn more

Read & Share sourced from: Brandon Sun

Brandon Citizens weigh in loudly at last chance to prevent a costly infrastructure project

by: Josh Wolsky | January 26, 2023

In the second story from Brandon in today’s news feed, you can read about a level of community engagement we do not commonly see in Minot. The City of Brandon proposed spending ~$30 million on new lift stations. The public showed up in force, and they weren’t shy with their opinions. They didn’t like the

Read & Share sourced from: Brandon Sun

Billings enters the design phase for a downtown street conversion project

by: Josh Wolsky | January 24, 2023

Designs for a downtown Billings makeover are underway. A big part of the project includes a traffic conversion from 1-way streets to 2-way streets that are safer for pedestrians and better for commerce. What’s especially interesting is how Billings plans to pay for the improvements; it’s with a Tax Increment Financing District (TIF). Why does

Read & Share sourced from: Billings Gazette

Minneapolis artists getting attention with their immersive art in Detroit Lakes

by: Josh Wolsky | January 23, 2023

If you saw a caveman in a block of ice sitting on the corner of the road, it would probably get your attention right? And what if it was sitting little ways down a trail, would it get you to go for a walk to see it? If you’re going through Detroit Lakes anytime soon,

Read & Share sourced from: InForum

Why private flood insurance is a positive for FHA-secured mortgages

by: Josh Wolsky | January 21, 2023

The risk of required and rising flood insurance premiums offered by the National Flood Insurance Program has been a proverbial gun to Minot’s head over the past several years. And one problem has been the Federal government’s insistence on using the NFIP for FHA-backed mortgages. It’s a policy that keeps the private insurance market from

Read & Share sourced from: Dallas Morning News

Relocation Programs Continue to Grow in Numbers in Rural America

by: Josh Wolsky | January 20, 2023

One story down in our home page news feed, you’ll read about Finding the Good Life in North Dakota, it’s our state’s effort at telling the story that will attract people to fill all the open jobs that are holding our economy back. But North Dakota isn’t the only place playing this game. Other states,

Read & Share sourced from: The Daily Yonder

Grand Forks County Commission members consider establishing county administrator position

by: Josh Wolsky | January 19, 2023

In the election last November, Grand Forks County residents approved a home rule charter measure; it authorizes the creation of a County Administrator position, and the County Commissioners are considering it. In Grand Forks, though, it’s largely a renaming act. The administration of the County has long been in the hands of a ‘Director of

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Regina City Committee Confronts Hypocrisy of Their Own City Center Development Priority

by: Josh Wolsky | January 18, 2023

Regina’s City Council is taking steps to intentionally target development in the city’s core neighborhoods. And in a committee meeting this week, they raised some hard questions, like, if they’re trying to target core development city center, why are they incentivizing development in the greenfield areas? Why does it matter in Minot? We could ask

Read & Share sourced from: Regina Leader Post

Souris-Glenwood Manitoba seeks place health-care workers can stay

by: Josh Wolsky | January 18, 2023

For communities in need of essential workers, all solutions are on the table. And across the border in Manitoba, the small town of Souris needs healthcare workers. They also need places for them to stay. So they’re putting the two problems together to see if they can solve them jointly. Deliver the housing to help

Read & Share sourced from: Brandon Sun