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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Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approves state’s first carbon capture pipeline
The Summit Carbon Solutions project would pipe liquid carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota to sequester it deep underground near Bismarck.
Huge investment in new Midwest powerlines, including electricity ‘superhighway,’ gets approval
Electric utilities and clean energy advocates say the new transmission lines and substations will help deliver renewable energy to where it’s needed, meet the growing demand for electricity and make the grid more reliable.
North Dakota regulators consider underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Midwest pipeline
A North Dakota panel will consider whether to approve permits for underground storage of carbon dioxide that a proposed pipeline would carry from ethanol plants throughout the Midwest.
Two people charged with animal abuse after dozens of cats, dogs seized in Beltrami County
Authorities said 64 dogs and cats were removed from the property last week, and brought to Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities. But deputies had counted well over 200 animals on previous visits.
Data centers spark opposition from residents, concerns over energy use
Tract, a development company based in Colorado, is proposing to build the $5 billion project for an undisclosed company, one of several data centers under construction or planned in Minnesota.
Monarch butterflies will get federal protections as a threatened species
U.S. officials decided to extend protections to monarch butterflies after warnings from environmentalists that populations are shrinking and the beloved pollinator may not survive climate change.
Backers of proposed resort expansion near Ely drop plans amid state lawsuit
Backers of a proposed $45 million expansion of Silver Rapids Lodge near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness have dropped their plans after a lawsuit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
‘Green Gold’: Booming demand for holiday greenery sparks illicit trade in northern Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says unlicensed bandits are snipping off the tops of spruce trees, trying to cash in on a market that one legal harvester calls “green gold.” 
After years of delays, revived taconite mine offers new economic hope on Minnesota’s Iron Range
Mesabi Metallics — a controversial project that’s been in the works for more than two decades and could be the first new taconite mine in Minnesota in nearly 50 years — is once again bringing hopes of economic revival to the Iron Range.