Coloradans living in rural parts of the state tend to pay a lot more for their monthly energy bills than metropolitan customers but a new Biden administration program aims to bring costs down by helping homeowners and businesses replace older, inefficient heating and cooling systems.

Philip Fracica, policy advocate for the Rural Power Coalition, said if the average Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association connected ratepayer agrees to participate, they should see significantly lower monthly bills.

"You're going to be looking at a 20% energy savings, compared to what you are currently paying now," Fracica pointed out. "You will be getting a bill reduction immediately. And especially if you know you have a high utility bill, and your home is inefficient, you will get saving and benefits from enrolling in this program."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy Savings Program is investing $50 million in Tri-State's Electrify and Save repayment program. The money will be used as low-interest rate loans to pay for improvements up front. Customers will make small repayments in their monthly energy bills.

Fracica noted monthly bills should still be lower even with the repayments.

Homes and businesses can sign up for the program through their Tri-state distribution member co-op. Fracica added efficiency experts will be dispatched to conduct a comprehensive energy audit of your home or building to identify potential savings.

"For instance, looking at putting in a new HVAC system, putting in a new furnace, looking at insulation upgrades," Fracica outlined. "So really going to look top to bottom on where they can find energy savings and are going to have a customized plan."

Because the financing is backed by the federal government and tied to the service location, rather than the ratepayer, it will not affect credit scores or add debt for customers. Fracica acknowledged many people have called the program too good to be true but he believes it is an important opportunity.

"The co-op itself can benefit, as well as the members," Fracica emphasized. "It also can create jobs for local contractors in local communities to do the work as part of the program. So there's really multiple groups that can benefit."

Several rural communities across North Dakota are strategizing how to slow the pace of local grocery stores shutting down.

Some are making use of state grant money to aid their efforts, but challenges remain.

In North Dakota's Walsh County, the Rural Access Distribution Cooperative has been on the leading edge of establishing local grocery store co-ops, where a handful of smaller shops buy items in bulk together.

The initiative was eventually awarded a state grant to buy a bigger truck and van, making supply deliveries more manageable.

Cooperative President Alexander Bata said they continue to see progress with increased sales, and better options for area residents.

"So, there's less waste, less cost," said Bata, "and we've significantly improved the quality of food."

However, other elements of the initiative still face hurdles.

That includes utilizing food lockers, where customers can buy their food online and pick it up when they choose. But Bata said they haven't been able to make the technology work.

In 2023, the Legislature approved $1 million for interested communities to sustain grocery service in smaller towns with limited access.

The town of Milnor, with a population of around 600, was one of the early grantees - and used its money for a feasibility study.

Milnor's Community Economic Development Coordinator Carol Peterson said those findings were clear - their lone grocery store needs more storage space to stay afloat.

"It makes it very hard," said Peterson, "to order in enough product to service the community."

That limits the store from keeping prices lower.

Peterson said she worries more customers will then look at far away options, taking their tax dollars with them. While local leaders did get a read on what's needed, they haven't been able to secure additional funding for the next phase.

A key legislative sponsor of the pilot grant program says there's interest in extending it next session, but she's still gathering feedback.


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The American Postal Workers Union is pushing back against proposed changes to the Postal Service they said would slow delivery.

Among other things, the proposal aims to cancel afternoon deliveries and pick-ups for areas more than 50 miles from a regional hub. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said elimination of night pickups could save the post office more than $3 billion a year.

Daniel Cortez, director of industrial relations for the Oregon Postal Workers union, said reducing services does not make sense financially.

"To think that eliminating services, reducing standards, basically providing the American people with less reliable service is somehow going to make money, it's nonsense," Cortez contended.

The charges are the most recent in a series included in Dejoy's 10-year "Delivering for America" plan. The union said DeJoy, who was appointed under President Donald Trump, has already raised prices for stamps while closing post offices across the country, especially in rural communities.

Cortez noted although rural communities would be hit hardest by this latest proposal, urban centers will also be affected. He explained the Postal Service has been shutting down processing centers in the state, making Portland the sole distribution site for all of Oregon, which means more mail delays for everyone, including Portlanders.

"If the clerks and the employees in the main plant are processing mail for the rest of the region, that means they're not at that same time processing Portland's mail," Cortez emphasized.

The changes come as first class mail volume has fallen 30% in a decade, with fierce next-day delivery competition. Although the Postal Service said under the new proposal most first class mail will not be affected, Cortez argued management is already failing to meet its lowered delivery standards from 2021. He added mail never used to sit around.

"First class mail was always moving until it got to where it needed to go," Cortez recounted. "That's just what everybody understood about the service that we're required to provide to the American people."

North Dakota has 30 available workers for every 100 open jobs. To help confront workforce shortages, the state is now accepting grant applications to kick-start solutions at the local level.

The Department of Commerce's Regional Workforce Impact Program invites towns, cities and their business development groups to seek out the grants.

Arik Spencer, president and CEO of the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, said providing seed money to foster innovation in worker recruitment might boost rural areas at a competitive disadvantage.

"Whether it is starting manufacturing ventures or doing other creative things," Spencer outlined. "To the extent that this can help those, maybe, small communities or underserved communities get people to move there and bolster their workforce, we think that's a positive outcome."

Spencer pointed out the innovation might look like closing affordable housing gaps, which he said is a common roadblock around the state. He and other stakeholders monitoring the labor landscape still hope for broader support when the Legislature reconvenes early next year. North Dakota's labor shortage woes appear to be more pressing than its neighboring states.

Spencer noted no matter the size of the community, applicants appear to be in the driver's seat in coming up with fixes that work for their populations.

"While living in Fargo may be attractive to some people, maybe living in Watford City's attractive to others," Spencer acknowledged. "This grant program allows those regional communities to figure out their own solutions and tackle those with the support of the state."

The application period began this week and runs through Jan. 21. There are grant caps for certain categories. For example, a local coalition focused on recruiting talent can receive a grant of up to $250,000. The cap is higher for infrastructure needs related to worker recruitment, such as child care centers.


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