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.

Four Minn. cities get state money to study petroleum leak sites
Paynesville, Alexandria, Blaine and Foley will hire a consultant to analyze whether leaded gasoline contamination poses a risk to their water supply.
Did the historic flooding on Rainy Lake this summer have to be so bad? 
The historic flooding on Rainy Lake this summer has been driven by record-setting spring rains that fell on top of a late-melting winter snowpack. But many residents believe that more could have been done to prevent the worst impacts of the flooding. 
Wind energy is helping fuel rural economies
A recent study found local incomes rise by around 5 percent and home values by 2.6 percent in areas near large wind projects.
North Dakota farmland purchase tied to Gates stirs emotion
The sale of a couple thousand acres of prime North Dakota farmland to a group tied to Bill Gates has stirred emotions over a Depression-era law meant to protect family farms and raised questions about whether the billionaire shares the state’s values.
DNR releases draft wolf management plan
The Minnesota DNR released a draft wolf management plan that calls for maintaining a statewide population of between 2,200 and 3,000 wolves. It does not take a position on a wolf hunting season.
Federal review says copper-nickel mining poses an environmental risk to BWCA
The Superior National Forest has released a draft environmental study on a proposed 20-year moratorium on new copper mines over a 350-square mile area in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
PFAS 'forever chemicals' are everywhere. Here's what you should know about them
PFAS are all around us, so how do we navigate a world filled with harmful chemicals? We speak to an expert who guides us through what PFAS are, why they're a problem, and what can be done about them.