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

University of Minnesota lab to study size, force of boat wakes

University of Minnesota lab to study size, force of boat wakes

University of Minnesota researchers plan to launch a study this fall of wakes created by recreational boats, hoping to provide insight into their impact on Minnesota lakes and shorelines.
by Kirsti Marohn

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Air quality disparities persist despite overall gains

Air quality disparities persist despite overall gains

A new study finds that the U.S. places with the most polluted air in the 1980s remain the most polluted today. Poor people and people of color are more likely to live in places with dirty air.
by Rebecca Hersher

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Did you get mystery seeds in the mail? Don't plant them

Did you get mystery seeds in the mail? Don't plant them

Officials are warning recipients not to plant the seeds and introduce potentially invasive plants to the state. The Agriculture Department isn’t sure what plants the seeds are from, but warn they could pose a risk to farm crops or natural landscapes.
by Tim Nelson

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State watchdog office criticizes PUC’s public participation process

State watchdog office criticizes PUC’s public participation process

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor released a report criticizing the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, saying the state’s utility regulator has not done a good job helping the public — particularly Native communities — participate in its complex proceedings.
by Dan Kraker

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COVID-19 brings surge of visitors — and some messes — to BWCA

COVID-19 brings surge of visitors — and some messes — to BWCA

The BWCA and the surrounding Superior National Forest in far northern Minnesota are seeing a surge in visitors this summer. With activities canceled and other trips on hold, vacationers are flocking to the area for the kinds of outdoors getaways that naturally allow for social distancing. That's good news for outfitters. But some of those campers are wreaking havoc.
by Dan Kraker

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Whales get a break as pandemic creates quieter oceans

Whales get a break as pandemic creates quieter oceans

A drop in shipping traffic is reducing underwater noise, so scientists are listening for how whales and other marine life are responding.
by Lauren Sommer

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Minnesota researchers track trumpeter swans to study migration, habitat

Minnesota researchers track trumpeter swans to study migration, habitat

Researchers are placing radio collars on 35 trumpeter swans this summer, as part of a broader effort to study where the majestic birds migrate in the winter, and what kind of habitat they utilize.
by Dan Kraker

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