An illustrated guide to Minnesota’s favorite snowflakes
Let’s make it crystal clear.
Environment
More than half of Minnesota waters — including the St. Croix River — are ‘impaired.’ What does that mean?
The latest impaired waters list completes a 10-year research effort to collect data on Minnesota’s 80 watersheds.
On cusp of deer hunting season, state officials look to save CWD effort from the trash
One piece of an aggressive DNR strategy to slow chronic wasting disease in deer, the dumpster program is now in flux.
Tim Walz wants Minnesota to have more electric cars. Do consumers really lack buying options?
The Walz administration contends that electric vehicles’ small market share in Minnesota is due to lack of choice, not lack of interest. But auto dealers say the buying options for zero-emission vehicles in the state simply reflects consumers’ preference.
What the climate’s ‘new normal’ is doing to Lake Superior
The lake and its shoreline communities are experiencing a series of climate impacts that run queasily parallel to the problems of saltwater coasts that have become familiar in recent decades.
PolyMet and Twin Metals say they’ll create thousands of Iron Range jobs. Does Minnesota have the workers to fill them?
The implications of the two projects for the area’s workforce could be “crazy,” said Michelle Ufford, executive director of the Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training.
Trump canceled a federal study about the impacts of mining near the Boundary Waters. Rep. Betty McCollum is trying to bring it back
McCollum got language asking for the study into an appropriations bill that passed the House. Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar are supporting a similar measure in the Senate.
Why presidential candidates are talking about the Boundary Waters
It’s no coincidence that three Democratic candidates have come out with positions on this very Minnesota-centric issue.
Why Minnesota is particularly hard hit by bird declines
A recent report found major declines in U.S. bird populations. Two of the most affected habitat-types cover most of Minnesota.
One issue that unites Republicans and DFLers in Minnesota? Biofuels
As farmers have suffered under U.S. trade policies, a push to invigorate the biofuels industry in Minnesota has gained new momentum.
‘The Paradise of Minnesota’: The history of Whitewater State Park
The park’s official creation dates from 1919, though no land was purchased until 1921. By 1926, despite few roads and minimal park facilities, 40,000 visitors came.
Hunting accidents are a lot less common in Minnesota than they used to be. But you can still get shot in the nose
Accidents are rare, but that’s small consolation to the victims.
Is the Endangered Species Act’s protection of gray wolves too broad for Minnesota?
A bill from Rep. Collin Peterson, co-sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber, seeks to return wolf-population management to the states in the Great Lakes region.
Clean-energy nonprofits supported Xcel Energy’s bid to buy a gas plant. Here’s why Minnesota regulators denied them
The five-member PUC unanimously turned down Xcel’s request to buy the plant, saying it was a risk for customers and could lead to higher energy bills with minimal benefits.
For Sigurd Olson’s biographer, Greta Thunberg’s activism gives new hope
“For the same kind of reason I love Greta Thunberg, Sigurd was someone who had this sense of purpose, this sense of calling, that he couldn’t let go of,” said David Backes.
Suppressed USDA climate research details big impacts for Minnesota farmers
Publication of climate-change related research by the USDA has plummeted under the Trump administration.
Walz wants to revamp Minnesota’s auto emission standards. But it’s Trump, not the Legislature, that may stand in his way
Walz wants to increase the supply of electric vehicles and reduce emissions. But the agenda’s centerpiece — joining California in setting rules that promote low- and zero-emission vehicles — hinges on a court battle with the Trump administration.
Northern Metals’ Minneapolis facility shut down after company admits to altering pollution records
Following the announcement of the settlement, two nonprofits — Community Members for Environmental Justice and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy — called for a criminal investigation of Northern Metals.
A whistleblower, a private investigator and potentially fake records: The state’s years-long fight with Northern Metals just got very weird
District Court Judge John Guthmann has ordered the whistleblower and a host of others to appear at a hearing on Monday to sort out the recent volley of allegations between the MPCA and Northern Metals.
Behind the scenes: MinnPost’s Walker Orenstein reporting on Twin Metals
We asked Walker Orenstein, our environment and workforce reporter, to show us a little bit of what happened on his recent trip to Ely to report on the Twin Metals mining project.
