Time to Read Curated Morning (#223) for January 15, 2026
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Welcome to Curated Morning. A compendium of news, information, and stories that economic development professionals, community development leaders and elected officials read every week to stay in touch with what is happening in our economy. The Main Thing:It’s January, and everyone is poised to excel and make 2026 the best year ever, right? We overachievers always think that way. Whether we actually hit a grand slam or not, the previous year, it really doesn't matter. What lies before us is the most important thing. We’ve set goals for the new year, and we are ready to roll! This year, I have made significant changes to my goals. Over the past year, I have rekindled my love affair with what someone might call a ‘hobby.’ This hobby is sometimes associated with ‘retired’ people. I refuse to use the word ‘retire’ or ‘retired’, and my new, let’s call it “my prioritized activity” has nothing to do with retirement. In fact, this activity is a way to keep my creative juices flowing. The activity? Let’s call it “urban sketching.” Urban sketching is the practice of drawing and sometimes colorizing urban scenes, buildings, people, and life in the city. I am drawn (like the pun?) to urban sketching because I have always been a doodler, and in high school, I wanted to be an architect, like George Costanza (IYKYN) (sorry for all the quotation marks… It's a problem of mine. Grammarly hates when I use them.) As with many things I do, it’s often all or nothing, so the past six months have been a whirlwind of taking pictures of buildings, downloading and taking classes, buying art supplies, learning color theory, and sketching, sketching, sketching. I sensed my family was getting tired of me uploading pictures of my latest work to the family chat, so I started a new Instagram page to showcase my work. That, and they were running out of room on the refrigerator to hang my drawings. Some family members and close friends say things like “you should sell these on the internet.” I’m not sure whether they are being nice to me or really believe they would sell, so the Instagram account is where I can share my obsession. The goal is to do more sketching and drawing, and did I mention my obsession with pallets? I’ll write about that some other time. But this past year, I broke down 20 pallets, processed the wood, and built the Christmas trees for family and friends (shown below). Here’s the plan: Each week, I will post a drawing of my work in this newsletter. A story about the building or business will accompany the drawing. Most of the early work I have done is buildings I have seen myself here in Rockford or in my travels. Read the story about my first job and the accompanying sketch here. That’s it! If you like my stuff and you want to scroll aimlessly on your phone, check out my Instagram site @martyart75 and follow. (This may be the point where you say, alright enough with this s**t, I am unsubscribing. I get it, and expect it. After all, this is a free newsletter I write, and no one is forcing you to read it. I’ll miss you, but we can still be friends.) Now on to the serious stuff… Focus On the Green EconomyThe $700 Billion Reuse Economy: How Three Policy Tools Are Turning Waste Into Competitive Advantage I remember my Father sitting in his basement workshop, ‘fixing’ things. He could practically fix anything. From glueing together a broken vase to getting th toaster working again, He relished the opportunity to make something usable again. For our family, it was often a matter of necessity. There wasn’t often money to buy something new the minute something stopped working. He was also the master of making the most of what he couldn’t fix. Those items, or scrap material, become the new bracket that holds together another apparatus in our home. The world today is different. We live in a throwaway society. Granted, the products are higher quality, but if they break down, there is often no way to fix them. The Circular Economy seeks to address that mindset, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is the leading proponent. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published a comprehensive policy brief identifying three transformative instruments that governments worldwide are deploying to keep products and materials circulating at their highest economic value rather than losing them to landfills. The trio includes:
These strategies are already generating measurable results, from Germany's 96% packaging recovery rate to China's $700 billion target for its resource recycling industry. The brief draws on case studies spanning Ireland's end-of-waste criteria, Brazil's integration of 800,000 waste pickers into formal recycling systems, and South Korea's certification program, which has boosted recycled plastic use from 2,600 to potentially 80,000 tonnes annually. With global resource consumption approaching 100 billion tons annually and extraction projected to surge by 150% by 2060, these policy frameworks provide a practical blueprint for reducing dependence on virgin materials while creating local jobs in repair, remanufacturing, and recovery operations. Why This Matters: Am I suggesting that we recruit are fathers and grandpas’ to sit in our collective basements and start fixing things again? Not really, but it would give them something to do instead of taking up pickleball, which is probably not good for their arthritic knees. Unfortunately, economic developers have often viewed recycling as an environmental program rather than an industrial development opportunity. The framework outlined above shows how circular-economy policies can directly and positively affect your community's competitive position for manufacturing investment and workforce stability. Communities with established recovery infrastructure, clear quality standards for secondary materials, and streamlined permitting for remanufacturing facilities are positioning themselves to capture portions of markets that the brief indicates could reach EUR 1.5 trillion in Europe alone by 2040. Could your community be the leader in this field in the USA? The policy instruments described create predictable supply chains for recovered materials that reduce manufacturers' exposure to commodity price volatility, a significant factor in site selection decisions for operations dependent on metals, plastics, textiles, and other processable inputs. Most critically for your workforce development efforts, the shift toward repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing creates jobs that cannot be easily automated or offshored, offering your community economic resilience that traditional manufacturing increasingly struggles to provide as automation advances. Take Action: Here are some things you can do to potentially take advantage of this type of forward-thinking economic development:
Read Keep it in use: Retain resource value and unlock economic opportunities by Ellen McArthur Foundation. More Articles on the Green Economy: Goodbye in 2025: What and whom we lost this year by Heather Clancy | Trellis -- From the Inflation Reduction Act’s cancellation to the collapse of global plastics treaty talks, it’s been an especially rough year. Other Articles of Interest this week:Technology -- Startup with hopes to build outer space power grid names Albuquerque as HQ by Joshua Bowling | Source NM -- A startup that seeks to build the first-ever power grid in outer space has selected Albuquerque as its headquarters, the state Economic Development Department announced. Mantis Space plans to build orbital infrastructure capable of powering satellites and lunar operations. The research and development facilities are expected to generate up to $480 million in economic impact over the next 10 years and create more than 200 jobs, with average annual salaries exceeding $180,000. AI -- City leaders ‘aren’t thinking big enough’ about AI, tech expert says by Ryan Kushner | SmartCitiesDive -- A National League of Cities panel broke down how some cities are using artificial intelligence effectively — and how others can get started. Data Centers -- Environmental groups call for halt to new data center construction by Tim De Chant | TechCrunch -- Environmental groups are calling for a moratorium on the approval and construction of new facilities. More than 230 organizations signed a public letter urging members of Congress to support a national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers, citing rising electricity and water consumption. How to LEADWe've all heard the stories of leaders who remained calm under pressure. There are many examples of cool, collected leadership that remind us of the value of this characteristic. Thinking of the reading I've done over the years, several stand out: Abraham Lincoln weathered a brutal civil war and relentless political attacks with quiet patience. He listened at length in cabinet meetings and paused before deciding—never simply reacting to provocation. His ability to acknowledge doubt, even depression, while presenting a composed public face gave others confidence that someone steady was holding the center. Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison without public bitterness, choosing reconciliation over retribution. Even when violence threatened South Africa's transition, he remained calm. His self-controlled demeanor during negotiations with the apartheid government modeled restraint for both Black and white supporters under immense pressure. George W. Bush in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 demonstrated calm when the nation needed steadiness most. Whatever one thinks about the wars that followed, his initial response—quickly assembling his team, gathering information, and communicating in a controlled, sober tone—stabilized a shocked public. Leadership commentators often cite those early days as an example of staying calm externally to help others find their footing. These are inspiring examples of calm in crisis. But what about calm in the daily grind—the unglamorous work of managing competing priorities, endless meetings, and constant demands? That's where most economic development professionals need it most. Professor Lynda Gratton's recent research in MIT Sloan Management Review addresses this question directly. She's identified calm as the most underrated capability leaders need today. Not calm in dramatic moments, but the everyday practice of creating space for reflection and protecting the activities that restore our energy. In a field where we're constantly pulled between urgent requests and strategic thinking, between immediate wins and long-term community building, Gratton's findings offer a framework worth considering. Read Calm: The Underrated Capability Every Leader Needs Now by Lynda Gratton in MIT Sloan Management Review to better understand calmness in leadership. Overheard:"Be careful to give no offence, and keep cool under all circumstances."
— Abraham Lincoln to Mark Delahay, May 12, 1860
The Rabbit Hole:Growing up in the sixties and seventies in the Midwest, often went on two-week car vacations. I remember traveling to Colorado in our 1966 four-door Chevy Impala. Five people packed into a car with NO air conditioning, video screens, or smartphones. Imagine that? How did we survive? (sarcasm) We did actually survive, and I can recall no trauma associated with that vacation. Only the beauty of the Rockies, Pikes Peak, swimming in lukewarm, dirty motel pools, and the Golden Dome of the state capital building. One thing that my parents always did was to buy postcards and send them to friends and relatives, describing the sights and things we did on our vacation. Every stop along the way required a postcard or two. Mom would come equipped with postcard postage stamps (they were a few cents cheaper), already purchased and ready to use. If the postcards didn't get sent, they worked as an excellent substitute for taking pictures. Again, this was the pre-digital age. Pictures were taken on ‘film’ cameras, saved and processed at your local Walgreens or, later, by a mail-order service. I’m sure I went through the family photo box, and we would still find postcards from our vacations. This article, "Can we save travel's most beloved tradition?" by Asia London Palomba (BBC), takes on the declining yet revered tradition of postcards. The author says that the decline is staggering, but not absolute. Postcard sending has collapsed dramatically. Americans sent 325 million postcards in 2024, down from 2.7 billion in 2000, a drop of nearly 88%. Yet despite these numbers, postcards haven't disappeared. Social media shows 6.5 million posts with #postcard, and Postcrossing (a global postcard exchange program) has over 800,000 members in 210 countries. In an era of oversaturated social media and instant digital communication, postcards offer something fundamentally different: an intentional, tangible connection. Multiple generations are keeping the tradition alive precisely because postcards require effort and thought. The founder of Postcrossing explains it: "An email quickly gets lost in the deluge of emails we get. But a postcard? It stands out." And finally, Infrastructure matters to tradition. The practice faces real challenges beyond cultural shifts. Travelers struggle to find quality postcards and reliable postal services abroad, with many now mailing cards only after returning home because they fear they won't arrive. Rising stamp costs and underfunded postal systems worldwide threaten the tradition's accessibility. Yet devotees view it as "an investment in relationships,” suggesting that when infrastructure supports meaningful traditions, people will continue to engage with them despite inconvenience and cost. Some more holes to consider: Time might not exist – and we're starting to understand why by Jimalkhalili | BBC Scince Focus -- The closer we look at time, the stranger it gets Undisturbed for Millennia, This Submerged Cave Is a Portal to the Ice Age by Jeanne Timmons | Gizmodo -- International research and highly-specialized divers are bringing an underground, underwater world to the surface Thanks for Subscribing and Reading If you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to share it with them. If someone forwarded this to you and you would like to subscribe, you can do so by clicking below. All the cool people are doing it!
Let's work together!With over three decades of experience in economic development, public administration, and small business, I can now bring my expertise to benefit you. What are the issues facing your community? What obstacles are you facing in growing your business? Let's work on this together. While I am experienced in a wide variety of sectors and issues, here is where my interests lie, and thus where I can benefit you most:
If you have any thoughts or comments regarding any articles in this newsletter please feel free to contact me through email at martin@martinkarlconsulting.com. You can review my services and offerings at www.martinkarlconsulting.com |