News
Coal Country bets on carbon capture moonshot
For communities like Hazen to remain viable, future energy mixes must include coal, many in Coal Country say. If no other energy sources can provide reliable baseload power, it’s likely coal will have a role for some time to come. However, a future for coal will require innovation to capture carbon dioxide before it leaves the power plants’ exhaust stacks. The current technology for carbon capture and storage [CCS) is developed but it is also extremely expensive. North Dakota’s potential solution is Project Tundra, an estimated $1.4 billion project that aims to capture and store up to 90 percent of the carbon emissions at the Milton R. Young Station, a 700-megawatt powerhouse near Center.
Election officials inundated with records requests
Election officials across North Dakota have been inundated with hundreds of requests for records over the past several months from activists alleging unproven vote count manipulation related to the 2020 presidential election. The trouble is, most requests ask for information that does not exist, and the flood of requests is tying up and frustrating state and county officials as they prepare for upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 8, 2022.
ND businesses, communities slow to embrace EV charging
For most current electric vehicle owners in North Dakota, daily driving isn’t a major issue. Wake up, unplug the car, hop in and head to work, maybe later hit the grocery or take the kids to practice after school and recharge at home in the garage again at night.
Child care provider shortage
Like in most child care providers in North Dakota, day care providers face challenges recruiting, retaining and paying employees a competitive wage. Without the day care, there would be many sad families in this small community of about 800 people, one day care provider said.
To counter labor shortages, North Dakota businesses contemplate immigrant options
Businesses across North Dakota are increasingly looking to attract new American immigrants and foreign workers due to challenges filling a wide spectrum of open positions in healthcare, services, manufacturing, agricultural production and child care fields. A question looming in the minds of those coming to North Dakota, however, is whether they are wanted or not. In the case of refugees, most do not have a choice in where they end up.
North Dakota News Cooperative
North Dakota News Cooperative recently hired an Enterprise Journalist who will start July 15.