Dakotafire Get your spark here.

A Kennebec farmer has created images and videos via time-lapse photography that show how dramatic and beautiful Dakota skies can be. Read More »

Whatever you think of the Keystone XL pipeline, you may want to take note of who stopped it. It was not, as reported in The New Yorker, Professor Bill McKibben and other East Coast activists. Instead, the power behind the brakes originated on ranches in Nebraska. NPR reported the story, and Daily Yonder gave their take on it: (NPR reporters ... Read More »

Which is more important: Gaining fast approval for genetically modified seeds so they can better compete with foreign companies, or giving the public and interest groups time to learn about the planned release and possibly voice their objection to it? Under new rules soon to be put in place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, faster approval will win out. ... Read More »

Check out these stories from Dakotafire-participating newspapers, which may be of interest to others outside of the target community — some ideas to borrow, and some that may serve as cautionary tales. Read More »

A few items that might interest you today: Growing up on a farm is good for your immune system, according to a new study from the University of Bristol, as reported by The Rural Blog. It raises the number of T-cells a person has, which helps keep a person from developing allergies. However, your health might be compromised if the ... Read More »

A map compiled by the Center for Rural Affairs shows new and proposed electric transmission lines designed to take wind power from the plains where it is generated to the Midwestern cities where it will be used. Read More »

Hiring an economic development director can bring definite benefits to the community, according to several economic development leaders. But they stressed that it’s not a silver bullet, and communities should realize that this step needs to be part of a larger strategic process if it’s to be successful. Read More »

If not, it’s time to learn about this “model of community planning” just down the highway: Howard, S.D. A class project to look at how money is spent in the community turned into a revival movement that involved a significant percentage of the county and had measurable results: In the first year, local retail sales increased 41 percent. The involvement ... Read More »

The agriculture industry is slated to lose 96,100 between now and 2020, which puts in at the top of a Bureau of Labor Statistics list of industries most likely to lose jobs in the next decade. This is not, of course, news to those in farm country: With mechanization, fewer farmers are needed, and in large part rural community populations ... Read More »

About 80 percent of the canola growing in the ditches of North Dakota contains genes that have been modified to resist some weed killers, according to researchers from the University of Arkansas. This finding is adding fuel to the debate about “super weeds”: plants growing wild that have the characteristics of herbicide resistance, the result of either seeds spreading from ... Read More »