Election results by the roadside
Posted at 2:56 PM on January 18, 2008
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Digital billboards have been a bit of a controversy in these parts since a few of them sprouted in Minnetonka, St. Paul, and along I-494 near Mendota Heights.
Opponents have expressed concern that the rotating ad images would distract drivers.
It was only a matter of time, however, before the operators figured you could do more with them than just runs ads. You could run... news, or -- in the case of South Carolina -- election returns.
Will that increase the odds of an accident? Perhaps not. The South Carolina Department of Transportation analyzed the accident rate near the billboards and found out that the rate went down when the billboards went up.
The election results idea didn't start in South Carolina. Last week, the digital billboards in Michigan carried primary results. And caucus results in Iowa were also "broadcast" on the electronic signs.
A call is out to Clear Channel Outdoors in Minnesota to see if the idea will be tried here.
| January 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
Master Archive
Recent Entries
- Let's be careful out there!
- What 'civic leadership really is'
- Math we can't do
- Foreclosures: Better but still not great
- Minnesota kid falls short in Geographic Bee, still a winner
- The best bee
- When the high school prank isn't so bad
- How to kill a wolf
- Is your appetite killing the ocean?
- Getting the Busy Signal
Categories
- Add category
- Art or Eyesore?
- Arts
- Aviation
- Bridges and roads
- Coffeeshop Chronicles
- Crime and Justice
- Disasters
- Economy
- Energy
- Five by 8
- Floods
- Floods 2011
- Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
- Health
- History
- Icons
- Life
- Marketing and advertising
- Media
- Music
- News
- News Cut on Campus
- Northwest Airlines
- People doing good
- Politics
- Race
- Regional history
- Religion
- Schools
- Science
- Sports
- Surveys and trivia
- Tech
- The jobs we do
- The political conventions
- The Quiz
- The Unemployed series
- Things that are puzzling
- War
- Weather
- What's the Story Here?
- When people do good
- wildlife
- You Should Meet...
Services
In The Spotlight
-
Sound Learning
Looking for ways to ensure your students are doing quality research from credible sources? Sound Learning is a launching point to Minnesota Public Radio's content on the Web. -
The Current Music Blog
Your daily note for good music, news and pop culture. With attempted jokes.
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock