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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.

Submit a question or story for Getting to Green here.

Climate Cast

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

Top environmental news in Minnesota from 2019

Top environmental news in Minnesota from 2019

This was a big year for environmental news in Minnesota. MPR News reporters Dan Kraker and Elizabeth Dunbar join the program and look back at the top stories in environmental news in 2019 and ahead to what’s to come in 2020.
by Elizabeth Dunbar, Dan Kraker, Angela Davis and Karen Zamora

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Big money is building a new kind of national park to protect Montana's prairie

Big money is building a new kind of national park to protect Montana's prairie

In Montana, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur wants to create a massive, privately funded public park. Some ranchers oppose the American Prairie Reserve and say they can better conserve the land.
by Nate Hegyi

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Climate Curious: We answer your questions about climate change

Climate Curious: We answer your questions about climate change

We’ve been collecting your questions about climate change. Now, we’ll give you the answers!

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Nature's 'Brita filter' is dying and nobody knows why

Nature's 'Brita filter' is dying and nobody knows why

A mysterious die-off of freshwater mussels has scientists scrambling to find a cause. Freshwater mussels clean water and provide habitat to countless other species.
by Nathan Rott

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Ask a 'sotan: Why are the rivers different colors?

Ask a 'sotan: Why are the rivers different colors?

Have you ever driven past or hiked along a Minnesota river and wondered what gives it that particular color? One MPR News listener did. She asked, "Why is the Mississippi River so muddy when compared to other rivers like the St. Croix? Has it always been this way?"
by Kirsti Marohn

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Bird poop problems? Rochester’s Crow Patrol is on it

Bird poop problems? Rochester’s Crow Patrol is on it

The city’s epic struggle with downtown crows and their poop intensifies in the winter. Chasing them away falls to a dedicated band of city workers armed with lasers, starter pistols and crow distress calls. MPR News spent a night with the crew.
by Catharine Richert

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Minnesota put on notice over incidental trapping of lynx

Minnesota put on notice over incidental trapping of lynx

The Center for Biological Diversity says it's ready to sue, saying the state has failed to comply with a 2008 court order that's meant to protect lynx from being caught by trappers seeking other species.
by The Associated Press

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Europe is burning U.S. wood as climate-friendly fuel, but green groups protest

Europe is burning U.S. wood as climate-friendly fuel, but green groups protest

In the search for alternatives to coal and gas, some European countries have turned to a very old fuel. They're importing wood from the United States. Some environmentalists say it makes no sense.
by Dan Charles

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