Twin Cities Suburbs
In ‘turf-loving’ Twin Cities suburbs, a push to help the state bee reshapes landscapes
Growth in Woodbury has competed with habitat for the endangered rusty patched bumblebee. Some people are trying to push more pollinator-friendly plantings instead of turf grass lawns.
More from Environment
Environment
How much trash is under water in Mille Lacs? A scuba team looked into it.
The group’s divers recovered fishing gear, tires, beer cans and a chrome hubcap from an old Buick.
September 26, 2024
Environment
Minnesota regulators: Xcel must refund customers for Prairie Island outage caused by severed cables
Xcel wanted customers to pick up the tab for buying substitute power as the facility was fixed, despite acknowledging it drilled without using ground radar.
September 23, 2024
Environment
Company seeks to expand massive lake of mine waste near North Shore
WaterLegacy says state regulators cannot rely on environmental studies conducted a half-century ago. DNR says it has closely studied the massive site known as Mile Post 7 and says it’s safe.
September 21, 2024
Environment
Minnesota wants carbon-free power by 2040. Xcel wants at least one new gas plant.
Xcel says the gas is needed for reliable power. Environmentalists and the attorney general say building new facilities is too expensive for customers and harms the climate.
September 21, 2024
Greater Minnesota
40 years after toxic waste destroyed a Cass Lake neighborhood, EPA promises action
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe wants to redevelop the area, but it’s hindered by contaminated groundwater and soil.
September 20, 2024
Twin Cities Suburbs
Eyesores or necessary clean energy? Solar garden growth sparks debate in Hugo.
Cities with land that appeals to solar farm developers are trying figure out how to balance the push for renewable energy with neighbors’ concerns about the solar panel arrays.
September 20, 2024
Environment
Root River’s most significant restoration project takes shape in the Driftless
After years of erosion caused by a defunct dam, engineers are working to move the Root River back to its original bed.
September 20, 2024
Environment
Why are lilacs blooming in Minnesota this fall?
Though it’s a survival mechanism for future lilac plants, a second bloom will not harm them, experts said.
September 18, 2024
Books
Review: Afraid of the dark? ‘Night Magic’ is a book to help us reimagine darkness
Nonfiction: Nature writer Leigh Ann Henion melds science and poetry in an illuminating ode to all that goes bump, or bright, in the night.
AuthoredPamela Miller
September 18, 2024
Environment
As Minnesota spends millions to restore peatlands, it sells mining rights for $12 an acre
Peatlands are vital to efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions, and the Minnesota DNR is in charge of both saving them and leasing them to peat mining companies.
September 14, 2024
Environment
Minnesota regulators narrowly approve gas pipeline near Pipestone Monument
On a 3-2 vote, the state Public Utilities Commission sided with Magellan Pipeline Co. over tribes who consider the area foundational to their religious beliefs.
September 13, 2024
Greater Minnesota
Fire of up to 5 acres spotted in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters
The fire northeast of Ely was smoldering and holding in place as of Wednesday morning. But Superior National Forest is experiencing drought conditions and above-average temperatures, and increased winds are expected later this week.
September 11, 2024