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.

Solar power is on a roll in Minnesota
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two solar developers about how solar energy is growing in Minnesota and challenges facing the industry.
OK to restart backyard bird feeding as avian flu risk ebbs, U experts say
With bird flu cases among wild populations continuing to decline, the University of Minnesota Raptor Center says the risk is low enough to put backyard feeders back up. In early April the center urged Minnesotans to take down their feeders to stem bird flu’s spread.
Solar is now the 'cheapest energy in history'
Solar projects are now roughly half the price of coal and natural gas projects.
'Pure devastation': Rainy Lake residents fill sandbags, fight exhaustion as floodwaters rise
About 250 homes have suffered some sort of damage on the south shore of Rainy Lake, east of International Falls on the Minnesota-Canadian border. It’s a slow-motion crisis that may not start to ebb until mid to late June.
New funding expands chronic wasting disease research
The Minnesota Legislature approved more than $4 million in funding for research into chronic wasting disease, an always fatal neurological disease in deer and other cervids.
National Eagle Center expands facilities and mission
The National Eagle Center in Wabasha will open June 3 after a six month renovation and expansion. The center plans to expand the reach of current education efforts and advocacy for eagles.
Replanting a resilient forest in the ashes of the Greenwood Fire
Last summer the Greenwood Fire destroyed a dozen cabins in northeastern Minnesota and scorched more than 40 square miles of forest. Now, work is underway to replant the burn area with more than 100,000 trees, to make the forest more diverse and resilient.