Walker Orenstein reports on the state Legislature for MinnPost, with a particular focus on covering issues affecting Greater Minnesota. He can be reached at worenstein@minnpost.com, and you can follow him on Twitter at @walkerorenstein.
The Legislature stuck a toe into what has become a larger conversation around the transition away from fossil fuels: permitting. Will lawmakers change a controversial rule that could limit solar development on farmland?
The fair is one way for Le Sueur County officials to gather intel as they prepare to contest broadband service claims of a controversial telecom company.
Across Greater Minnesota, many cities and towns face a lack of housing and struggle to boost inventory to meet demand for homes. That is what inspired DFL lawmakers to expand a state program that subsidizes ‘workforce housing’ in Greater Minnesota.
A small MPCA grant program is undergoing a massive expansion. It’s one of the biggest environmental and climate initiatives at the Legislature this year, and will help local and tribal governments prepare for increasingly extreme weather.
With Wednesday’s ruling, the Supreme Court sent the crucial permit for the NewRange mine, formerly PolyMet, back to the MPCA. The agency will have to give the EPA a chance to weigh in, this time in a more formal and public manner.
Another section of state law not amended by the new recreational marijuana law contains a default penalty — a petty misdemeanor — for any acts that are made illegal but lack specific penalties.
The final product only applies to projects inside, or within a mile of, environmental justice areas in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, Rochester and Duluth. But the definition of an environmental justice area is expansive enough to cover the vast majority of those regions.
Plans are afoot to revamp and reinforce parts of the trail’s Bean and Bear section and two other popular loop hikes. Minnesota lawmakers this year approved $565,000 for the work, which comes as the trail’s association works to better understand ‘hot spots’ on the 300+ mile route.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce has not yet launched the program for doling out rebate money. But for now, here is what we know about the EV rebates and who can get them.
When calculating who has access to proper broadband, the federal government counts much slower internet speeds compared to Minnesota’s definition. As a result, the cash may be enough to hit federal goals for universal broadband, but not state ones.
The moratorium has led to complicated questions about burials and cemeteries. It has also raised eyebrows among Jewish and Muslim leaders because burials in their faiths could be impacted by the law.
This report might have much less information next year: Much of the data reported by the state may not be collected and released publicly because the Legislature repealed parts of the state law requiring it.
The cash is a staggering sum of money compared to prior state and federal spending on broadband internet access in Minnesota. It should help move the state closer to goals in state law for universal access.
It’s even more unusual because the number of bellwether counties is rapidly diminishing.
Talon’s plan is a milestone for the company’s Tamarack Nickel Project. It’s also a new chapter in a long and thorny debate between those who fear possible water pollution and those eyeing potential job creation.
Greater Minnesota lawmakers had substantially less influence at the Legislature than perhaps ever before — during a year when the state had a record $17.5 billion surplus. It’s a result of political realignment along geographic lines that accelerated in the Trump era.
The legal route by the Fond du Lac Band to take on the project formerly known as PolyMet was the first of its kind, as was the outcome. And it could have broader implications for tribes and industry in Minnesota going forward.
The governor and other supporters argue that incentives for a burgeoning industry can slash emissions, create jobs and provide a future for Minnesota’s large biofuels industry as electric vehicles become a larger share of ground transportation.
Most of the money is aimed at one stubborn issue plaguing cities across Greater Minnesota: workforce housing. And the aid got wrapped up in debate over helping Minneapolis rebuild in the wake of riots after the murder of George Floyd.
Tracking all the declared candidates.