Midkota Solutions Blog

GG Smith & the Wicked Cash - New North Dakota Band!

2010-08-11T12:23:00.001-07:00

Great new band here in North Dakota - GG Smith & the Wicked Cash. Blues Rock and Soul music.

Check out their song "Somebody Fix Me" which is a cover of a Grace Potter tune:

Here's their YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/thewickedcash

And follow them on Facebook: GG Smith Facebook

DakotaPolitics.com Launches Vote Lookup Tool

2008-10-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

KXNet.com and DakotaPolitics.com have created a new tool for finding actual votes case by your district Representitives and Senators during the Legislative Sessions since 2001.

We have broken the votes down into categories and topics which allow you to get their record on specific issues that are of interest to you.

Whether you want to see their votes on Income Tax, Abortion, Banking, Game and Fish, etc., you can choose your district and then click to see how they voted.

The tool is available right now on the DakotaPolitics.com Home Page

Below is an example report for District 2 in North Dakota:

District 2 Delegation Wind Energy Bills and Resolutions

The following list represents all District 2 Delegation's votes on bills and resolutions related to Wind Energy

Some bills may be represented more than once if the house or senate had multiple roll call votes on the same bill.

Year

Bill

Title

Final Bill Status

2007

HB 1363

Decommissioning Commercial Wind Energy Facilities

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay

Failed

2007

HB 1233

Income Tax - Wind Energy Tax Credit Assign In Power Purchase Agreement

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2007

HB 1317

Property Tax - Wind Turbine Electric Generator Taxable Valuation

District 2 Votes

Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea

Passed

2007

HB 1072

Property Tax - Wind Turbine Electric Generators Valuation

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Absent
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2007

HB 1028

Proposed Studies - Energy Development And Transmission Committee Study

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2007

HB 1506

Renewable And Recycled Energy Policy

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Absent

Passed

2007

HB 1231

Wind Energy Project Payments Of Property Owner

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Absent

Passed

2007

HB 1456

Wind Farm Siting Study And Report 7/31/08

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2005

SB 2365

Department Of Commerce - Wind-To-Hydrogen Demonstration Projects Appropriation

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)

Senate

Nay

Failed

2005

HB 1283

Energy Conversion Facility Siting

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Absent

Passed

2005

HB 1481

Income Tax - Alternative Energy Device Income Tax Credit On Form Nd1

District 2 Votes

Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay

Failed

2005

HB 1314

Renewable Electricity Trading And Tracking System

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Absent
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay

Passed

2005

HB 1308

Renewable Energy Commission - Renewable Energy And Conservation Office And Appropriation

District 2 Votes

Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay

Failed

2005

SB 2229

Renewable Energy Policy And Commission Various

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)

Senate

Nay

Failed

2005

SB 2238

School Wind Turbine Electricity Purchase Credits 7/1/05

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)

Senate

Yea

Failed

2005

HB 1385

Wind Energy Pricing Jurisdiction

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay

Failed

2005

SB 2239

Wind Option Agreements, Easements, And Leases

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2003

HB 1435

Public Service Commission - Renewable Energy Production Incentive Program

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Absent

Failed

2003

HB 1412

Renewable Energy Goals For State Agencies

District 2 Votes

Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay

Failed

2003

SB 2286

Reports Of Receipts For Resale Of Rec

District 2 Votes

Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Yea
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea

Passed

2003

SCR 4025

Senate Concurrent - Congress Urged To Create Wind Energy Production Tax Credit

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)

Senate

Nay

Passed

2003

HB 1340

Wind Energy Development Lease Termination

District 2 Votes

Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay
John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea

Failed

2003

HB 1378

Wind Energy Hydrogen Production Study

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2003

SB 2310

Wind Turbine Siting And Development Contracts

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Absent
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Yea

Passed

2003

SB 2244

Wind Turbines For School Districts

District 2 Votes

John Andrist (R)	Senate	Yea
Dorvan Solberg (D)	House	Nay
Bob Skarphol (R)	House	Nay

ND 2008 Election Races and Current Polls

2008-10-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

DakotaPolitics.com has a list of all of the 2008 statewide and legislative races for the 2008 Election.

Below is the latest list from DakotaPolitics.com

Governor

John Hoeven Party:Republican Party	Tim Mathern Party:Democratic-NPL Party	DuWayne Hendrickson Party:Independent Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
71.46%	24.55%	3.36%
John Hoeven's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Tim Mathern's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	DuWayne Hendrickson's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for Governor

U.S. House

Earl Pomeroy Party:Democratic-NPL Party	Duane Sand Party:Republican Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
50.00%	46.61%
Earl Pomeroy's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Duane Sand's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for U.S. House

Public Service Commissioner

Brian Kalk Party:Republican Party	Cheryl Bergian Party:Democratic-NPL Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
40.65%	59.35%
Brian Kalk's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Cheryl Bergian's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for Public Service Commissioner

Insurance Commissioner

Adam Hamm Party:Republican Party	Jasper Schneider Party:Democratic-NPL Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
16.71%	68.37%
Adam Hamm's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Jasper Schneider's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for Insurance Commissioner

Treasurer

Kelly Schmidt Party:Republican Party	Mitch Vance Party:Democratic-NPL Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
6.47%	84.55%
Kelly Schmidt's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Mitch Vance's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for Treasurer

Auditor

Robert Peterson Party:Republican Party	Daryl Splichal Party:Democratic-NPL Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
33.54%	62.11%
Robert Peterson's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Daryl Splichal's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for Auditor

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Wayne Sanstead Party:Democratic-NPL Party	Max Laird Party:Independent Party
DakotaPolitics.com Polling Results (last 4 weeks combined)
36.61%	59.82%
Wayne Sanstead's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions	Max Laird's Profile Legislative Voting Record On the Issues Campaign Contributions

View Detailed Information on the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction

FishingBuddy.com Dominates ND Outdoor Website Market

2008-09-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

In recent reports via the third-party vendor Quantcast, the numbers now prove that FishingBuddy.com continues to dominate the North Dakota Outdoors Website Market by a whopping margin of more than 4:1 versus NodakOutdoors.com !

ND Statewide: Nodak: 4181 Uniques, FBO - 18,497 Uniques

Fargo/Moorhead DMA - Nodak: 3002 Uniques, FBO - 7,495 Uniques

Bis/Man/Min DMA - Nodak: 1701 Uniques, FBO - 11,840 Uniques

Links Below:

Nodak:

http://www.quantcast.com/nodakoutdoors.com/geo

FishingBuddy

http://www.quantcast.com/fishingbuddy.com/geo

TON 2.0 is in Beta

2008-08-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

The beta version of the new Total Outdoor Network (TON 2.0) is now public and available to view!

Midkota Solutions and TON have launched three beta sites and have used some content from the existing system

Check out the following:

TON Corporate Site

Fishing Buddy Beta Site

North Star Outdoors Minnesota Beta Site

For more information on the planned features of TON 2.0, see:
TON 2.0 Feature Overview

Lee Enterprises Paper in MT Cuts Staff

2008-08-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Sign of the times to come for the Bismarck Tribune? - Time will tell if the Bismarck paper is forced to cut staff as well

By Gazette News Services
MISSOULA - The Missoulian has announced that it will lay off four full-time and three part-time employees.

"With a tough economic environment resulting in skyrocketing newsprint and fuel costs, along with softening in certain segments, the Missoulian has been faced with very tough financial decisions, not dissimilar to many other businesses in our community and our industry," publisher Stacey Mueller said Wednesday.

The layoffs by the newspaper, the third-largest in Montana, include two newsroom employees, two in advertising, one in circulation and two part-time telemarketing sales staff whose work was outsourced.

"This was a very difficult decision, one we don't take lightly, as the folks impacted were our team members and we care about each of them," Mueller said.

Lee Enterprises Web Revenues in Declinie

2008-08-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

From AdAge

As of late 2006, he said, 70% of the paper's online ads were the result of either up-sells from print or buys in tandem with print. Today, print advertisers account for 50% of McClatchy's web business, as the chain has been able to attract a growing number of online-only advertisers in nonclassifieds categories such as retail. "This is significant because it's establishing a separate, independent business from our print product," Mr. Pruitt told analysts.

Steep spending declines
But several major publishers have not been as successful on that front and are apparently paying for it now. At Lee -- which publishes a number of Midwestern titles including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- online ad revenue declined 9.1% during the quarter. A spokesman cited tough comparisons -- the chain's results were boosted by joining the HotJobs network last year -- but also steep spending declines in key classifieds categories that are afflicting its print and online results.

Read the Full Article

Newspapers, reeling from slumping ads, slash jobs

2008-06-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

From the AP is this analysis of newspaper revenues and the overall newspaper industry today and down the road:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080629/ap_on_bi_ge/newspapers_cutbacks

By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer Sun Jun 29, 2:55 PM ET

NEW YORK - Even for an industry awash in bad news, the newspaper business went through one of its most severe retrenchments in recent memory last week.

Half a dozen newspapers said they would slash payrolls, one said it would outsource all its printing, and Tribune Co., one of the biggest publishers in the country, said it might sell its iconic headquarters tower in Chicago and the building that houses the Los Angeles Times.

The increasingly rapid and broad decline in the newspaper business in recent months has surprised even the most pessimistic financial analysts, many of whom say it's too hard to tell how far the slump will go.

"They're in survival mode now," said Mike Simonton, a media analyst at Fitch Ratings, a credit analysis agency.

"We had very grim expectations for the sector," Simonton said, and publishers have either met or surpassed his estimates for how bad the results would be.

Last week alone, deep staff cuts were announced at The Hartford Courant and The (Baltimore) Sun — two Tribune papers — as well as at the Daytona Beach-Journal, while The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press said they hoped to reduce the head count in their joint operations by 7 percent through buyouts. The Boston Herald said up to 160 employees would be laid off as it outsourced its printing operations, and in a memo explaining the terms of its job security pledge, the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., said it is operating in the red. The week before, McClatchy Co. said companywide staff cuts of 10 percent were coming.

Tribune, meanwhile, told its employees Wednesday that it hoped to wring more value out of its "underutilized" real estate in Chicago and Los Angeles, extending an asset-selling program Tribune is pursuing to service a $13 billion debt load, much of which it took on from going private.

Tribune has already reached a deal to sell one of its largest newspapers, Long Island-based Newsday, but ran into delays early this month in liquidating Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play, when negotiations for the field's purchase by a state agency broke down over financing. Tribune is also moving to sell the Cubs.

Tribune has enough money to meet its debt requirements this year, bond analysts have said, but it must make headway on asset sales in order to meet its obligations in 2009.

Tribune's troubles reflect broader problems in the industry, where a deepening economic downturn is worsening losses from a long-term shift away from print advertising toward online, especially in classified categories like help wanted, autos and real estate, where rivals such as Craigslist, Move.com and AutoTrader.com are thriving.

Advertising is by far the most important source of revenue for newspapers. And in the first quarter, their overall ad revenue slumped 12.9 percent, led by a 24.9 percent drop-off in classifieds, compared with the same period a year earlier.

In fact, the industry group that compiles and releases ad revenue figures, the Newspaper Association of America, this month stopped putting out quarterly press releases with the numbers, though it quietly updated them on its Web site.

NAA spokeswoman Sheila Owens said in an e-mailed statement that the organization will now put out press releases only with full-year data "to keep the market focused on the longer-term industry transition from print to a multiplatform medium."

Some say complacency in the industry about the threat the Internet posed is to blame for the current quagmire.

Speaking on the CNBC business news cable channel Friday, Sam Zell, the real estate magnate who is now Tribune's CEO, said newspapers have historically been "monopolies" in their local markets and "insulated from reality," according to a transcript of his remarks provided by CNBC.

Going forward, if ad revenues continue to slide rapidly, companies including Journal Register Co., MediaNews Group Inc. and — in the absence of further asset sales — Tribune could then risk violating their loan terms, said Emile Courtney, a media industry credit analyst for Standard & Poor's.

Already, just two major publishers have investment-grade debt under S&P's ratings — Gannett Co. and The New York Times Co. The industry is divided between them and "everybody else," Courtney said.

Given the current poor climate for the business, he said: "I have doubts banks will be as willing as they were in the past to waive or amend covenants."

Bisman Classifieds Network Launching Local Business Services Directory

2008-01-30T15:14:00.000-08:00

One of the most requested features for BismanOnline.com and our network of classified web sites is a local services directory. We are just a few days from launching this new service!

The Local Services Directory will allow local businesses to list and promote their service within our online directory. Our directory will be cross-linked with our classified sections as appropriate.

To start, we will be launching with the following set of services categories:

Automotive
Beauty
Contractors
Financial
Food and Dining
Insurance
Medical
Real Estate

(Note: For a sneak peak at the directory and our categories , click here...)

PRICING

Our pricing will be in 3-tiers:

Tier 1: Businesses with 2 or less employees: $275/Year

Tier 2: Businesses with MORE THAN 2 employees: $550/Year

Tier 3: Current Advertisers (Banner Advertising / Store Customers) receive a Services Directory Listing FREE!

(Note: Honest bid contractors receive a special discount on the services directory - Contact your HonestBid rep for more information)

We will provide more details shortly including information on pricing, and signup. If you are interested in listing your business, click here. to fill out our request form.

Open Source Ad Management Firm Aims for U.S. Expansion - ClickZ

2008-01-20T05:11:00.000-08:00

Midkota uses a customized version of OpenAds for all of our ad deliveries - it is a great product and this is also new and exciting news.

Open Source Ad Management Firm Aims for U.S. Expansion - ClickZ: "Open Source Ad Management Firm Aims for U.S. Expansion

By Jack Marshall, The ClickZ Network, Jan 18, 2008
Articles | Contact Jack
Open-source ad server software provider Openads aims to use the $15.5 million in investor funds it's just raised for product development and support. The London-based company has released a hosted version of its software in beta, removing the need for publishers to install the platform on their own servers.

The free Openads software allows publishers to insert, target and manage ads in a variety of formats and monitor campaign performance. It also supports ads from external networks such as Google AdSense, Yahoo and AOL's Advertising.com.

'Openads focuses on the needs of the publisher, and helps them see more of their revenue,' said Openads CEO James Bilefield. 'Our hosted software will allow us to reach an even broader market, and increase simplicity further for publishers.'"

Read the whole thing:

Internet Advertising Revenues in Q3 ’07 Surpass $5.2 Billion, Setting New High

2008-01-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

Internet Advertising Revenues in Q3 ’07 Surpass $5.2 Billion, Setting New High: "Internet Advertising Revenues in Q3 ’07 Surpass $5.2 Billion, Setting New High

NEW YORK, November 12, 2007 The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) today announced that Internet advertising revenues exceeded $5.2 billion for the third quarter of 2007, representing yet another historic high for a quarter and a $1.1 billion increase, or 25.3 percent, over Q3 2006. The results, published in the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, are nearly 3 percent higher than Q2 2007, itself the last record-setting quarter. All three quarters in 2007 have set new highsQ1 at $4.9 billion, Q2 at $5.1 billion, and now Q3 at $5.2 billon. Revenues for the first nine months of 2007 totaled $15.2 billion, up nearly 26 percent over the $12.1 billion recorded during the first nine months of 2006.

"The continued robust growth of the industry indicates that marketers increasingly understand and appreciate the benefits of interactive advertising," said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. "Marketers large and small have come to accept digital media as the fulcrum of any marketing strategy."

"Internet advertising revenues are on an annual run-rate exceeding $20 billion, further demonstrating the industry has truly come into its own," said Peter Petrusky, director, Entertainment, Media & Communications Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "The emergence of new platforms, including broadband video, rich Internet applications, mobile, and social media promise to deliver new benefits for consumers, and create exciting new venues for marketers to realize value in digital media."

"The results of the survey continue to underscore the value that interactive advertising brings to the marketplace, as marketers and agencies build on established guidelines and best practices to control costs and maximize returns from their growing interactive budgets," added David Silverman, partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Source: PwC/IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report (www.iab.net)

Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the "IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report" was started by the IAB in 1996, and represents data from all companies that report meaningful online advertising revenues. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising.

First and third quarter revenue reports are estimates, with the actual figures being released along with second and fourth quarter data, respectively. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.

The IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters.

CBS Big Shot: Post your Videos Online to Enter

2008-01-17T13:11:00.001-08:00

CBS is launching a new program called Big Shot - Which is like American Idol, only difference is you "Audition" by submitting a video of yourself, your band, your act, whatever -

For more info you can go to:

http://www.kxnet.com/BigShot

If anyone submits something, let me know - We will publish "vote for me" links to your submission

Midkota Web Properties: Quantcast

2008-01-17T04:50:00.001-08:00

Latest results of the quantcast data for Midkota Web Properties:

Network Monthly Traffic Summary	US	Global
Page Views per Month	12,509,892	12,857,641
Average Page Views per Visit	14.03	13.68
Visits per Month	891,586	940,195
Average Visits per Unique	2.91	2.77
Uniques per Month	305,960	339,818
The numbers below are beta and are not viewable to the general public. Learn more.
Cookies per Computer	1.30	1.28
Computers per Month	235,185	265,590
Home Traffic	52%	52%
Work/Education Traffic	48%	48%
People per Month	213,512	241,308
Monthly Page Views per Person	58.59	53.28
Monthly Visits per Person	4.18	3.90

Top Sites	Reach	Reach%

kxmb.com	99,884	29.4%
bismanonline.com	77,671	22.9%
kxmc.com	71,710	21.1%
fishingbuddy.com	57,169	16.8%
kxnet.com	21,570	6.3%
minotads.com	10,382	3.1%
kxma.com	9,682	2.8%
southdakota-outdoors.com	9,344	2.7%
tonsofclass.com	8,112	2.4%
farmooronline.com	6,924	2.0%
dickinsonads.com	6,124	1.8%
kxmd.com	4,552	1.3%
dakotapolitics.com	4,299	1.3%
northstaroutdoors.com	3,720	1.1%
willistonads.com	2,462	0.7%
jamestownads.com	2,268	0.7%
devilslakeonline.com	2,179	0.6%
theforksonline.com	2,033	0.6%
nebraska-outdoors.com	1,991	0.6%
walleyeangler.net	1,640	0.5%

Midkota Advertiser Spotlight - Agri-Cover of Jamestown

2008-01-15T07:03:00.001-08:00

Business Spotlight: Agri-Cover of Jamestown

2008-01-14

This Edition of Business Spotlight focuses on Agri-Cover. Specializing in Roll Top tarps for Ag Equipment, they also hagve set the standard for pickup bed covers.

Agri-Cover Continues Growth in the Aftermarket Industry and Online
Katie Jacobson, Marketing Coordinator, Agri-Cover, Inc. (ACI)

It’s amazing how many companies are started on a simple product idea that makes a consumer’s life easier. One of these companies is Agri-Cover, Inc. (ACI), a Jamestown business that is solely based on the philosophy of making products that make sense.

Agri-Cover, Inc. was established in 1981 as a grain truck cover manufacturer. Over the next 10 years, they introduced the SRT-2™ Spool Roll Tarp and the EZ-LOC® Roll-Up Tarp. In 1991 the company set the standard for pickup bed covers, when they introduced the revolutionary Access® Roll-Up Cover. The first of its kind, this pickup bed cover is the most asked for roll-up cover in North America. Many different cover models followed over the years, including the LiteRider®, Lorado™ and Vanish™ Roll-Up Covers. Earlier this year ACI introduced the new Access® Roll-Up Cover & Rack, which merges the benefits of a roll-up cover and a durable pickup rack system into one efficient package.

The business continued their product diversity in 2000 with the SnowSport® HD Utility Plow, which continues to be the most user-friendly and affordable snow plow on the market today. Today they make plows available for trucks, SUVs, Mini-Vans, ATVs, and UTVs. In 2003, the SnowSport® HD Utility Plow was awarded the prestigious GM Best New Product Design Award.

ACI employs 115 people from Jamestown and the surrounding communities and has been recognized with the North Dakota Business and Industrial Development Award as well as the Jamestown Business of the Year Award.

You can now purchase ACI products direct from their website http://shop.agricover.com, and receive free shipping on any order in the continental US. For more information on ACI’s full product line, visit www.agricover.com or call 1-800-233-4655.

Read the Article on Fargo Classifieds!

Compete.com: KXMB plus BismanOnline continue to own the Bismarck Internet Market

2008-01-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

In this month's compete.com web rankings, KXMB and BismanOnline.com together continue to own the Bismarck, ND Internet Market. KXMB and BismanOnline combine for a total 79,000 Uniques (Compete Estimate - Not Actual Results) compared to the Bismarck Tribune's 54,000 and KFYR TV's 10,000

Once again, the Midkota Combination proves to be the #1 source for Bismarck/Mandan Area Traffic.

Date: 12/2007	People	Month Δ	Year Δ	What is this?
kxmb.com	49,117	46.4%	332.7%	The number of people visiting a site. See Full Description
kfyrtv.com	10,569	-10.1%	11.1%
bismarcktribune.com	54,024	-19.3%	-27.4%
kfyr.com	555	-77.0%	-6.1%
bismanonline.com	30,000	-5.9%	-18.5%
Compete triangulates multiple data sources, including ISP, Panel & Toolbar to estimate U.

Midkota is Looking for Sales Rep's

2007-11-08T05:09:00.000-08:00

Midkota Solutions is looking for qualified outside sales representives to handle Internet Advertising sales for the largest group of web sites in the area.

Sales representatives will focus on Internet Sales for BismanOnline.com, KXNet.com (KXMB), BismanROCKS.com, FishingBuddy.com, and the new DakotaPolitics.com

Our primary focus is increasing sales in the Automotive and Real Estate sectors and we are expanding sales in the Financial, Insurance and Hospitality markets. Plus, we are placing a big focus on Political Campaign sales in 2008.

This is a commission only position paying up to 20% on net sales.

Required skills include:

- Prior sales experience
- Ability to make cold calls and deliver presentations to clients
- Ability to perform basic calculations and price quotes.

Interested candidates should send resume's and cover letters to:
eric@midkotasolutions.com

Or, call 701-222-0370

Education Required	:	None	Benefits	:
Hours per Week	:		Web Site Link	:
Salary Type	:	Contract	Link to Apply Online	:
Job Duration	:	Contract	Salary Range	:	Up to 20% Commission

ND County Political Leanings (Left or Right)

2007-10-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

We have launched some new features on DakotaPolitics.com including some nice analysis tools on election data for each North Dakota County:

Does your County "Lean" Left or Right? - We have the Numbers

date syndicated: Oct 31 2007 11:07AM

New on DakotaPolitics.com is our "County Lean" calculation that displays how each ND County "Leans" Politically

For each county in North Dakota, we have calculated a "left/right" Political "Lean" rating based on a number of factors including election results, total votes for parties, and current representation in the ND Legislature.

The following list, ordered from Left to Right (Left being "more Democratic" and Right being "more Republican" shows the calculated lean for each county as of 2007

View the left/right Lean Rating for every ND County here:

Most Left Leaning County: Rolette

Rolette

more data...

More Democratic-NPL

More Republican

Most Right Leaning County: Billings

Billings

more data...

More Democratic-NPL

More Republican

View the left/right Lean Rating for every ND County here:

Daycare Manager.net - Day Care Waivers Granted To Some Criminals (KOTV 6 Tulsa)

2007-10-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

Daycare Manager.net - Day Care Waivers Granted To Some Criminals (KOTV 6 Tulsa): "OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) An investigation into the Department of Human Services shows the agency has granted special waivers to criminals so they can be around day care children. A report by The Oklahoman shows those granted waivers include people who committed domestic abuse, crimes of violence, drug offenses and sex crimes."

Mathern to Announce Plans Regarding ND Governor's Race | DakotaPolitics.com

2007-10-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Mathern to Announce Plans Regarding ND Governor's Race | DakotaPolitics.com

FARGO Senator Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, will announce his plans regarding the 2008 gubernatorial race in cities across the state. Places, times and dates are as follows; Fargo, November 1, 2007, 9 AM Fargo Park District Depot, West Meeting Room, 701 Main Avenue, Fargo; Bismarck, November 1,2007, 1 PM Kennedy Memorial Center, 1902 E Divide Ave., Bismarck; Minot, November 1, 2007 3:30 PM, Minot Public Library, South Community Room, 516 2nd Ave. SW, Minot; Grand Forks, November 2, 2007 10 AM Grand Forks Public Library, 2nd Floor Meeting Room, 2110 Library Circle, Grand Forks.

In August, Mathern formed an exploratory committee to consider plans relating to seeking the Democratic-NPL Party’s endorsement for governor. At that time, Mathern said, “We have a wonderful opportunity to make North Dakota an even better place to live for everyone, but we need the right leadership to make that happen.” Since August, Mathern has consulted with his exploratory committee and other leaders and citizens regarding issues pertaining to the governor’s race as well as other potential candidates.

Mathern has served as a North Dakota state senator since 1986 and has worked in family services for 30 years. He holds a BA degree from North Dakota State University and advanced degrees from Harvard University and the University of Nebraska. He currently works as the public policy and nonprofit development director at Prairie St. John's. Mathern and his wife Lorene live in Fargo. They have four children.

Read more on Tim Mathern and the 2008 ND Governor's Race

Tim Mathern's Profile
Contact Tim Mathern
Tim Mathern's Voting Record
Tim Mathern On the Issues
Tim Mathern Campaign Contributions

DakotaPolitics.com First Media Outlet with GOP Straw Poll Results

2007-10-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

DakotaPolitics.com was the first Media Outlet to publish the results of Friday Night's ND Republican Party Straw Poll. We received word as soon as votes were counted and had the results up before anyone in the state!

GOP Straw Poll Results
updated at 8:52pm 10/26

Romney

29%

Giuliani

22%

Thompson

21%

McCain

14%

Huckabee

Paul

Rice

Hunter

Tancredo

Midkota Solutions Launches DakotaPolitics.com

2007-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

North Dakota Political Coverage and Government Web Site Officially Launches (DakotaPolitics.com)

BISMARCK, N.D.

Reiten Television and Midkota Solutions in a joint partnership officially launch this week a new and one-of-a-kind web site in North Dakota focused on North Dakota Politics and Government. The new website, part of the KXNet.com group of web sites, features an unprecedented volume of information on elected officials (down to the county and city levels), upcoming races, legislative bills, roll call votes, campaign finance data, news, opinion and blogs. (see below for example links)

DakotaPolitics.com has been featured on the Joel Heitkamp Show and is providing full coverage of every North Dakota race in 2008.

One of the unique features of the site is the database of legislative bills and roll call votes. DakotaPolitics.com has gathered every bill introduced since 2001 and have tabulated over 500,000 individual roll call votes. This data provides, for the first time, a full and easy to read view of each bill, including who voted for/against it, and additional demographic statistics based on legislative districts.

For instance, users can look at a bill and determine geographically how the votes were cast (East vs West), which party (Democratic/Republican) supported the bill, plus additional data such as votes based on a district’s population data (e.g. Rural vs Non Rural, High Poverty Rates vs Low Poverty Rates, etc.)

The web site also features profiles on every current elected official in the state as well as those that have announced, are exploring or are rumored to be running for an office.

DakotaPolitics.com will also be tightly integrated into KXNet.com featuring news and video from KXMB / KXMC. In addition, National Coverage (News / Video) provided by CBSNews.com Politics

“This web site is for the voter”, says Eric Kubischta of Midkota Solutions. “As a voter, you can find the issues that matter to you most, and then determine, at a glance, whether or not the legislators from your district, or candidates for statewide office, support your position.”

To make this easier, DakotaPolitics.com has grouped all of the bills and issues into a variety of categories allowing you quicker access to the legislation you are interested in. Whether it is Taxes, Business Regulations, Crime, Education, Energy, Farming, Health, Jobs, Welfare, Social Issues (Abortion, Marriage, etc.), you have the ability to drill down directly to the bills related to each topic.

Election Data is available for all elections back to 2000, and we provide interesting statistics such as how particular counties tend to vote and what is the trend over the past 8 years.

DakotaPolitics.com also brings campaign finance data for both statewide candidates and Federal candidates allowing you to follow each individual contribution.

More Information

DakotaPolitics.com Home Page

http://www.dakotapolitics.com

2008 Races Coverage

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/race2008.asp

2007 Legislative Session

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/legis_2007

Examples of Legislative Bill Statistics

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/2007_HB_1329

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/2007_HB_1329/Votes_By_District

Topical Bill Breakdowns

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/Bill_Topics

District Information

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/districts.asp

Elected Official Examples:

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/John_Hoeven

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/Tim_Mathern

Political Party Information

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/getParty.asp

Local Government Examples

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/Bismarck

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/Cass_County

Campaign Finance

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/CampaignFinance.asp

Citing DakotaPolitics.com Information

See:

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/Citing_DakotaPolitics.com

For media organizations including Television, Newspaper, Radio, Magazine and Internet. The following is a guide to citing DakotaPolitics.com information in your publications or broadcasts.

In all cases, when publishing information to the Internet, provide a direct link back to the original content on DakotaPolitics.com

News and Video

For each news story or video, cite the originating source. Normally this will be "KXMC News Minot", "KXMB News Bismarck" or "The Associated Press"

DakotaPolitics.com Staff Blogs

Cite DakotaPolitics.com: e.g. "DakotaPolitics.com Is Reporting....."

Syndicated Blogs or Non Staff Blogs

Cite the originating author name or website name

DakotaPolitics.com Statistics and Data

Cite: "Source: DakotaPolitics.com"

DakotaPolitics.com Logo

Contact Information

Eric Kubischta

Midkota Solutions / DakotaPolitics.com

Email: eric@dakotapolitics.com

Phone: 701-222-0370

Reiten Television

Minot

David Reiten

Phone: Email dreiten@kxnet.com

701-852-2104

Bismarck

Tim Reiten

Email: treiten@kxnet.com

Phone: 701-223-9197

New DakotaPolitics.com Features Added

2007-10-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

Recently we added additional features to the DakotaPolitics.com Web Site:

District Voting Record Rollups
Once you have identified your district, or are lookup up one of the districts, we how have the ability for you to see how the delegation from that district voted on every bill since 2001.

As an example, see the following link for District 35's Votes on Property Tax Related Bills:
http://www.dakotapolitics.com/District_35/Votes_By_Topic/Bills-Property_Tax/legis_2007

Locate all of the districts here:
http://www.dakotapolitics.com/districts.asp

Bill Votes grouped by Party
For every bill, we take the last vote in each legislative body, and roll-up the vote tallies by party - This allows you to see at a glance how Republicans and Democrats favored each bill and which party lent the most support (or lack of support).

See the following examples:
http://www.dakotapolitics.com/2007_HB_1187

http://www.dakotapolitics.com/2007_HB_1332

Discussion Groups
Each Party, Elected Official, Candidate, 2008 Race, and every bill now has a link to join a discussion group for each one in the talk forums -

Check the talk forums page for the hot discussions going on now.

Joel Heitkamp Show

2007-10-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday, October 12th, Midkota Solutions owner Eric Kubischta was featured on the Joel Heitkamp show with host Jasper Schneider. (KFYR , KFGO , KCJB)

We discussed for about an hour DakotaPolitics.com

How busy are Midkota Web Sites?

2007-10-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

In order to ensure that all of our advertisers are confident that their messages are reaching a wide audience - We make our statistics publicly available to anyone that wants to see them -

All of our realtime stats are available via the Midkota Traffic Center - This tool gives you, the advertiser, a real time look at how many people are on our web sites, how many pages they are clicking on and how many ads we deliver

Midkota Traffic and Statistics Center

Below is a sample report (9:05 AM Central Time, on October 10th, 2007) - This report toals 2007 unique visitors over the last 60 minutes

Newspaper Revenues Continue To Sink - HotJobs deal may not save them

2007-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

In this report from Silicon Alley Insider, Henry Blodget discusses the much hyped Yahoo deal with newspapers such as Lee Enterprises (owner of the Bismarck Tribune) and how the deal, although initially encouraging, will not be the savior of newspaper revenues over the next few years -

He also displays a statistic showing the huge decrease in classified advertising revenues - Due to online free classified sites (Such as ours - BismanOnline.com) as well as nationwide sites such as Craiglist)

Industry-wide, print newspaper classified revenue fell nearly 16.5% in the half of this year to $1.97 billion, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Although the NAA does not report online revenues by category, total newspaper online revenues gained 20.3% in the first six months. In the same period, Monster.Com, the leading independent online job site, reported a 22% gain in sales.

Bisman Classifieds Group Exceeds 10,000 Classifieds for the First Time

2007-10-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

For the first time since BismanOnline.com was launched over 6 years ago, the group of websites under the BisMan named has exceeded over 10,000 classified ad listings.

The launch of the recent set of sites under TonsOfClass.com and 3 additional North Dakota cities (Jamestown, Devils Lake and Grand Forks) has added to the success and total available items listed.

Nebraska Outdoors	1
Minnesota Outdoors	1
South Dakota Outdoors	1
Devils Lake	15
Jamestown	16
Grand Forks	16
Boise, Idaho	49
North Dakota Outdoors	53
Rochester, MN	91
Williston	111
Dickinson	258
Fargo	421
Minot	609
Bismarck	9252

Totals 10894

KXMB.com beats the BismarckTribune.com overall visitors

2007-10-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

Compete.com is reporting that KXMB.com leads the local newspaper web site (Bismarck Tribune) for August numbers (September numbers to come out in a few days)

Overall growth for KXMB is up month over month for the past 6 months while the Bismarck Tribune is showing a downward trend in people visiting.

This is a strong indication of the quality of the KXMB website and its set of features and tools available to Bismarck / Mandan area users

KXMB's Sister Website KXMC.com (Minot, ND) also leads the pack in local news -

KXMC has led the Minot Daily News website for the last 3 months running (since June of 2007) by an overall large margin:

Midkota Web Sites Continue to Lead the Pack in ND

2007-10-06T08:08:00.001-07:00

In North Dakota, Midkota properties continue their commanding lead in overall visits and traffic

KXMB and KXMC occupy the #1 and #2 spots and we own 5 of the top 10 sports according to Quantcast Internet Ratings

Site RANK POSITION

kxmc.com	14,737	1	1
kxmb.com	23,543	2	2
nodakoutdoors.com	23,991	3	3
bismanonline.com	25,979	4	4
in-forum.com	28,464	5	6
sayanythingblog.com	29,928	6	5
fishingbuddy.com	42,770	7	7
kxnet.com	49,571	8	8
bismarcktribune.com	60,437	9	9
grandforksherald.com	62,115	10	10

North Dakota Sports - KX is #1

2007-10-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

Looking for North Dakota Sports? - The #1 destination for schedules, scores, standings, polls, game recaps and game previews is KXNET

Our sports section includes data from the #1 High School Sports site on the net - MaxPreps.com

Check out North Dakota Sports at www.kxnet.com/sports

FarMoorOnline - New Logo - New Look!

2007-10-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

As you may have already noticed, FarMoorOnline got a fresh look with some new colors and a brand new logo (replacing the old boring one we had before) -

The New Logo:

We hope you like it

The Bisman Classifieds Group Just Got Bigger

2007-10-05T13:47:00.001-07:00

The BismanOnline.com network of classified ads just got a lot bigger with the launch of 8 new classified ad web sites linked into the current group of sites we already have!

More North Dakota Cities

Just launched for North Dakota are 3 sites for Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Jamestown - the new web sites: www.TheForksOnline.com , www.DevilsLakeOnline.com, and www.JamestownAds.com launched yesterday and are interlinked with neighboring cities

Outdoor Sites

We have also just launched our first set of "Topic Specific" classified web sites focused on the Outdoors, Hunting and Fishing - We have launched 5 of these sites for North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Alaska and can be found at:

http://northdakota.tonsofclass.com

http://southdakota.tonsofclass.com

http://minnesota.tonsofclass.com

http://nebraska.tonsofclass.com

http://alaska.tonsofclass.com

These sites are all branded under a new group called "Tons Of Class" (TON is an acronym for the Total Outdoor Network which includes the famously popular www.FishingBudddy.com )

New Fargo Logo - FarMoorOnline

Our existing Fargo site also got a minor facelift with a new logo (see below

This brings our total classifieds network to 15 web sites in all! (the above are in addition to www.bismanonline.com, www.minotads.com, www.willistonads.com, www.dickinsonads.com , www.FarMoorOnline.com, www.MedCityAds.com (Rochester, MN) and www.TreasureValleyClassifieds.com (Boise, ID)

The BismanOnline.com network of website is the MOST VIEWED GROUP OF WEB SITES in our state!

DakotaPolitics.com Preview Edition!!

2007-10-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

DakotaPolitics.com Preview Edition!!

Site is currently in preview and is the #1 stop for North Dakota Politics

Tattoo Restrictions for Minors | KXNet.com North Dakota News

2007-02-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

Tattoo Restrictions for Minors | KXNet.com North Dakota News: "Tattoo Restrictions for Minors
Feb 5 2007 11:18PM
KXMCTV Minot
Lawmakers are looking to put restrictions on tattoos and body piercings.

Senator Terry Wanzek is asking to make it illegal for someone to tattoo or body pierce a minor unless they're accompanied by a parent.

His proposal would make it a Class B misdemeanor if the law is broken.
Justin Marter with 'Michael Jays,' a tattoo and body piercing clinic, says a minor is never given a tattoo without a parent's consent.

He says Wanzek' bill is good but it doesn't go far enough."

Midkota Launches New Versions of Classified Sites

2007-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Midkota Solutions today announce that they have launched a totally revised version of their local Classified Ads network, based in Bismarck North Dakota.

The primary site (www.bismanonline.com) has enjoyed 6 years of local success and has become the most used web site in the Bismarck Mandan area. - Last year, Midkota took the first steps when they launched classified sites in Minot, Dickinson, Williston and the Fargo Moorhead area.

"There were many problems with the old system" says Eric Kubischta, President of Midkota Solutions of Bismarck. "Our main concern was security and fraud protection for our customers"

With that in mind, Midkota designed the new web sites from the ground up, focusing an a new account management system, and extra fraud protection features to help reduce the risk that invalid listings are posted (mainly from out of the country scammers)

In addition to the new account features, the classified sites now feature improved browsing, integrated eBay search capabilities, and customized "Store Fronts" for local businesses.

"The store fronts are initially going to be popular with local Automotive Dealers" says Kubischta, however, we are working to bring on other types of establishments who are looking to put their products online locally.

Our storefronts either enhance, or even replace, existing web sites, with the main advantage of traffic. The classifieds network boasts 40,000 to 50,000 unique visitors, with an expected 100,000 individual consumers reached on a monthly basis. In addition, they are currently generating around 8 Million individual page views per month.

For more information on the Bismarck Classifieds Web Site, visit www.bismanonline.com. For more information on Midkota Solutions visit www.midkotasolutions.com