You'll have a lot to think about after reading this Urbanophile blog post from Aaron Renn, headlined, "Should the Midwest play a game it can't win?"

Renn starts by taking note of recent column by Bloomberg's Noah Smith, channeling the work of Michigan-based Brookings Institution scholar John Austin, that argues the roots of the region's rebound lie in luring more immigrants and investing more in higher education.

From Renn's post:

This is a fine and dandy idea. There's only one problem: In an economy driven by immigrants and university research, which places are likely to win? The places that are already winning this very battle: the elite coastal cities like Boston, New York and the Bay Area.

We've had decades now to observe were immigrants are settling in the U.S. They are mostly bypassing the Midwest. ... And as I previously documented, in a superstar economy, the Midwest has few of the absolutely most elite programs in critical STEM fields.

As a result, he writes, "the Midwest's role in this current (economic) system is as the designated loser. The only way to start winning is to find out how to play a different game."

Renn notes that the Midwest largely is beset by a "pragmatic mindset" that makes figuring out a different game difficult for the region.

He concludes that since we are in "a disruptive era in Washington," Midwestern leaders should think hard about coming up with "fundamental changes to the status quo in federal policy that aren't already being advocated by coastal progressives."

VentureBeat highlights 10 promising startups outside of Silicon Valley, and one of them is a portfolio company of Cleveland's JumpStart Inc.

The startups that made the list "are ones that have found success by leveraging the strengths in their respective markets," according to VentureBeat's Anna Hensel. "They've been set up for success in 2018 thanks to an influx of venture capital, a slew of promising hires, or an agreement with a large new customer."

The JumpStart portfolio company on the list is Cincinnati-based Lisnr, which was founded in 2012 and develops ultrasonic audio technology that uses inaudible Smart Tones to transmit information. VentureBeat says it's "one of few companies experimenting within what it calls 'the internet of sound.' "

From the story:

The company still has a way to go to become a household name, but it managed to secure some notable partnerships this year that could introduce the idea of transmitting data-over-audio to a broader audience. In July, Lisnr secured a partnership with Ticketmaster to begin the rollout of a new e-ticketing service. Called Ticketmaster Presence, the service replaces QR codes and can verify a user's ticket via audio data transmitted through their phone. The idea is that transmitting ticketing information over inaudible sound waves makes it much more difficult for fraudsters to create duplicate tickets. Lisnr also secured a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to explore ways to integrate Lisnr's technology into vehicles. Smart Tones could be used to unlock a car via the owner's phone or to transmit an order to a drive-thru restaurant.

The only other Ohio startup on the list, also from Cincinnati, is Tilr, a hiring platform that aims to remove unconscious bias in the hiring process.

Sandusky resident Katie Cooksey speaks for a lot of people in this Wall Street Journal story about what the paper calls "the '90s gift to supermarkets that keeps on giving" — rotisserie chicken.

The paper reports that Americans bought 625 million rotisserie chickens at supermarkets in 2017, according to market-research firm Nielsen, a few million more than the year before. Costco sold 87 million in its 2017 fiscal year, compared with 51 million in fiscal 2010.

And with labor costs and competition rising, "more stores are relying on rotisserie chickens to draw customers," according to the story. "To continue selling them for $5 to $7 each, executives are working to trim supply-chain costs, cook chickens more efficiently and throw fewer of them away unsold."

That's important because as prices stay low, shoppers "often buy higher-margin side dishes and beverages to round out a meal."

The Journal says grocers "also are tweaking their marketing strategy to make their chickens stand out," in particular "placing chicken warmers in checkout aisles to inspire last-minute purchases." (The Giant Eagle I shop at in Lakewood does this.)

The strategy works for Cooksey, who buys rotisserie chickens for herself and her 9-year-old daughter at a Kroger store in Sandusky.

"When they're right by the checkout, the smell always gets you," she says.

• "Knife Skills," a film that follows the launch of Edwins restaurant in Cleveland, is listed in this Hollywood Reporter Oscar forecast as a frontrunner for a nomination in the documentary shorts category. It screened in October at the Chagrin Documentary Film Fest. On Sunday, Jan. 21, the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is hosting "Knife Skills and A Taste of Edwins," a program featuring an Edwins-catered reception starting at 5 p.m. followed by the short film "Caviar Dreams" and then "Knife Skills" at 6:30 p.m. Information on that event is here. Edwins has gained national attention for its dedication to hiring people who are rebuilding their lives after serving time in prison.

• Forbes' pick for classical music CD of the week is Mitsuko Uchida performing Mozart Piano Concertos No. 17 & 25 with the Cleveland Orchestra. "Uchida and her Clevelanders flow from movement with the greatest natural ease," the magazine says. "The orchestra, conducted from the keyboard, plays with chamber-like assurance and great sensitivity, adding greatly to this wholesome delight. This is one of the longest-running performance- and recording projects in this increasingly short-lived industry, dating back to 1998 (the first self-conducted Mozart performance of Uchida's in Cleveland) and 2009 (the first recording of that collaboration) respectively."

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