With the right investments in technology, rural communities could use this moment to remake their futures. One small town shows how.

Signs direct visitors to Mitchell, S.D., for hundreds of miles around. The town, which is a bit more than an hour west of Sioux Falls along Interstate 90, is home to the Corn Palace, a classic roadside attraction that in a non-pandemic year attracts about a half-million visitors. Enticed by the endless string of billboards, weary travelers pull off the interstate to take a look at the palace’s onion-shaped domes and corn-colored murals depicting bison, Mount Rushmore and George McGovern, the late senator and long-ago presidential candidate who was a native son of Mitchell.

Mitchell Technical College and Lake Area Technical College in Watertown are going to be beneficiaries of more than $4 billion of giving from philanthropist and novelist MacKenzie Scott, it was announced Wednesday.

The amount of the gift for the colleges was not stated in the announcement. Scott, who is deemed the richest woman in the world with a net worth of more than $60 billion, has committed $4.15 billion in philanthropy, much of it directed toward supporting those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While most people think of Silicon Valley as the leading tech hub in the world, Estonia is quickly becoming a top player on the world stage for entrepreneurship and technology. Famed for its innovation, Estonia boasts a vast community of over 1,000 startups – famously dubbed the #EstonianMafia on Twitter – including a varied mix of established names such as Skype, to newer innovators such as unicorns including Pipedrive, Transferwise, and Bolt.

With its disruptive startup ecosystem, progressive government policies, and digital nomad education initiatives, it is fast becoming a more attractive alternative to Silicon Valley’s crowded ecosystem.

FREDERICTON – Ray Harris, the owner of Data Wazo, is putting Fredericton businesses on the map with his Shop Local Fredericton web application. The project was created to act as a resource for people looking for local businesses to shop from during the holiday season and beyond.

“People think there’s a certain item they just can’t get in the city and because of that they immediately go online. If we can make that information a little more readily available, it might encourage people to spend their money in the city,” said Harris.

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Ville de Montréal is pleased to unveil its Climate Plan 2020-2030 today. Consisting of 46 firm actions, the plan will allow Montréal to achieve the ambitious climate targets it has set for itself in the area of ecological transition, i.e., a reduction of 55 per cent of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the community between now and 2030 (compared with 1990), as well as carbon neutrality for its operations between now and 2040 and for the community in 2050.

The Estonian capital, Tallinn, succeeds Taoyuan in Taiwan as the “number one intelligent community”.

The “intelligent community” title is handed over annually by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) – a global network of 180 cities, metro regions and counties, with a think tank at its heart. The think tank studies and promotes the best practices of the world’s “intelligent communities” as “they adapt to the new demands” and “seize the opportunities presented by broadband and digital technology”.

Western Downs Green Power Hub, the largest solar farm in Australia, is now officially owned by Neoen, as the company completes financial close on the sale.

Western Downs, a 460MWp solar farm located near Chinchilla in South West Queensland, will deliver clean energy into Powerlink’s transmission network and is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the region.

The financing of Western Downs was completed five months after Neoen secured a 352MWp power purchase agreement with CleanCo Queensland, in one of Australia’s most substantial renewable contracts to date.

(The Center Square) – The rest of the country now knows what most people in Ohio already know, the Buckeye State offers some of the best small-town living in the country, according to a recent report.

Two Ohio towns are among the top 20 small cities in America, according to the personal finance website WalletHub, which Tuesday released its report on the best small cities in America.

Dublin, Ohio, ranked 12th in the nation, while Mason, Ohio, came in at No. 19.

EU member countries on Tuesday next week are to hold their first forum in Taipei to pitch investment opportunities directly to Taiwanese companies, with the top EU envoy encouraging local businesses to play an important role in Europe’s post-pandemic economic development.

It is in the interest of Taiwanese companies to increase their presence in Europe, especially as global supply chains are being restructured due to the COVID-19 pandemic, European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan Director Filip Grzegorzewski said on Friday.

DUBLIN, Ohio, Aug. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the world continues to navigate through the worst global health crisis in a century and people ponder their own health and how to take charge of it, IGS Energy is embracing its role and responsibility to help create a healthier planet.

To help lead the fight against climate change, the Ohio-based energy company today announced its goal of becoming a completely carbon-neutral energy provider by 2040. The company's first major step in doing so is to provide 100% renewable electricity and carbon-neutral natural gas to all new residential consumers beginning today.