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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.

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

Federal report finds Rapidan Dam removal will have beneficial effects on Blue Earth River

Federal report finds Rapidan Dam removal will have beneficial effects on Blue Earth River

A federal report indicates that removing the partially collapsed Rapidan Dam will have long term beneficial effects on fish and other aquatic life in the Blue Earth River. Severe flooding caused the dam to fail in June of 2024.
by Hannah Yang

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U.S. farmers lost conservation experts in Trump's federal cuts. Now they're hurting for help

U.S. farmers lost conservation experts in Trump's federal cuts. Now they're hurting for help

The Natural Resources Conservation Service lost nearly a quarter of its staff nationwide in 2025 after the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal government. Many were local experts that help farmers with soil and water conservation efforts.

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Why the devastating Boundary Waters wildfires are critical for a healthy Minnesota forest

Why the devastating Boundary Waters wildfires are critical for a healthy Minnesota forest

The wildfires that burned 70,000 acres of the canoe wilderness this summer left behind a charred landscape, but also set the stage for a rebirth of northern Minnesota’s boreal forest.
by Dan Kraker

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Girl Scouts' first cookies for dogs will go on sale in January

Girl Scouts' first cookies for dogs will go on sale in January

Man’s best friend is getting some love from the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts of the USA says its first cookies for dogs will go on sale in January. The blueberry muffin-flavored cookies were developed with Bark, a New York-based seller of dog treats and toys.
by The Associated Press

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Meet Trapper, the dog helping Minnesota's DNR sniff out invasive zebra mussels

Meet Trapper, the dog helping Minnesota's DNR sniff out invasive zebra mussels

Invasive zebra mussels have infested five percent of Minnesota’s treasured lakes, rivers and waterways, where they gobble up nutrients that native fish and plants need. So to keep them from spreading, the state’s Department of Natural Resources is using specially trained K-9s to sniff them out.
by Catharine Richert

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Excess nutrients can lie dormant in soil for years before polluting rivers, study finds

Excess nutrients can lie dormant in soil for years before polluting rivers, study finds

U.S. Geological Survey researchers developed models to better understand the timing and sources contributing to nutrient pollution in streams and rivers. They say their findings can help guide efforts to improve water quality.

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