Environmental News

MPR News is your source for environment news from Minnesota and across the country.

Getting to Green: Minnesota’s energy future

Getting to Green is an MPR News series that shares stories about Minnesota’s clean energy transition, including what needs to be done to get there.

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Climate Cast

Listen to Climate Cast, the MPR News podcast all about our changing climate and its impact in Minnesota and worldwide.

What's in big Biden bill? Health, climate goals become law
President Joe Biden arrived at the White House promising to “build back” America, and on Tuesday he's signing into law legislation with a slimmer version of that idea.
From its start one year ago, Greenwood Fire changed landscape of northeast Minnesota
The Greenwood Fire was first spotted one year ago. By the time it was extinguished months later it had burned thousands of acres and destroyed more than a dozen homes and cabins — part of a fire season that prompted a closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Drought is driving elephants closer to people. The consequences can be deadly
Zimbabwe's elephant population is growing, but climate change makes rainfall unpredictable. Animals travel further in search of water now, and often end up clashing with villagers for scarce resources
Checking honeybee health by testing honey DNA
Commercial and hobby beekeepers lose many bee colonies to disease every year. A Fargo researcher is developing a way to provide an early warning of disease by testing DNA in honey.
Fire on Isle Royale prompts closures, trail evacuations
Smoke was spotted in the area of the island's Three Mile Campground on Saturday afternoon, according to the NPS. Firefighters responded to find it had already grown to a 5-acre fire.
These photos are shedding new light on how fireflies interact with the world
In the summer, from dusk until the moon rises, photographer Pete Mauney finds his photos' subjects along quiet stretches of highway, in hidden pockets of woods and under power lines.
Rapidan community campaigns to preserve aging dam
Blue Earth County is deciding what to do with the huge Rapidan Dam. Over a century old, it suffered damage during recent flooding. If the county board votes to take it down it will be the largest-ever dam removal project in state history. However some local residents say the huge structure is vital to attract visitors, and to the town’s identity.