Cooperatives

It’s National Co-op Month! A time to celebrate cooperatives and their role in shaping and supporting the communities where we live, work and play.

While cooperatives operate in many industries and sectors of the economy, seven cooperative principles set them apart from other businesses: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; members’ economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community.

There is a rich cooperative history in North Dakota, and North Dakota Living has championed cooperatives of all kinds throughout its 70-year history.

There’s a new industry you may have heard of that uses huge amounts of electricity – as much as all the refrigerators in the United States. And it may be coming to a town near you.

Cryptocurrency has been around less than 15 years, so if you’re not familiar with Bitcoin and other forms of digital currency, what you’re about to read will likely sound strange.

Is it weird to celebrate 70 years?

I pondered this question myself, even floated it by colleagues and trusted advisors. Sure, celebrating 75 years may be more “standard” when it comes to marking milestones. But is it weird to celebrate 70 years of North Dakota Living?

“This will never happen in Minot” was what some people thought of the shiny new $20 million Magic City Discovery Center, which is now the most talked about attraction in the Magic City.

The 28,000-square-foot facility opened May 5 and has 12 galleries filled with more than 150 exhibits designed to teach kids in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) with fun and engaging activities.

On Thanksgiving Day 2022, Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives began its 25th year of serving the co-op community and uniting this community behind a brand that signifies superior satisfaction, strong member engagement and sustained trust.

Americans have mixed views on nuclear energy.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts electricity demand will drop about 1% during the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, and coal is expected to play a reduced role in the U.S. energy mix.

The EIA projects electricity use will drop to 4,000 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2023 from last year's record high of 4,048 billion kWh.

Millions of Americans tuned in to the first “Monday Night Football” broadcast of the year. Two NFL powerhouses, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills, faced off in a Jan. 2 game the oddsmakers had tipped in the Bills’ favor by two-and-a-half points. According to preliminary ratings, the game was the most-watched “Monday Night Football” telecast in ESPN history with 23.8 million viewers, surpassing a 2009 Packers-Vikings game in which many Upper Midwesterners likely were among the 21.8 million viewers.

It was not the game, however, that drew the massive audience.

Akin to a Fitbit for cattle, an ear tag developed by a Fargo-based company is bringing smart technology to the most basic of places – prairie pastures.

The tags have been developed by 701x, a tech startup owned by Kevin Biffert.