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.

Group seeks another environmental review for PolyMet mine
A clean water group has petitioned state and federal regulators for another environmental review for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota.
Here are the stories, topics, and guests you'll hear today on MPR News.
Monarch butterfly 'way station' feeds migrating insects in Duluth
Volunteers in Duluth got their hands dirty planting hundreds of tiny plants along the city's Lakewalk. But it was no ordinary landscaping.
Can Minnesota have clean water without regulating fertilizer?
Minnesota farmers rely heavily on nitrogen fertilizer to grow the crops that help make agriculture a $75 billion industry. But the state has struggled to find the right balance between food and fuel production and clean water. The state held the first in a series of hearings about new regulations on fertilizer use Monday.
As we kick off Flyover: Down the Mississippi River, we discuss the historical and cultural impact of the river -- from the towns that were founded on its banks to the businesses that it bolstered and the music that it inspired.
Rising seas could cause problems for internet infrastructure
The internet relies on a network of cables, many buried underground along U.S. coastlines. A new analysis finds sea level rise could put thousands of miles of cable underwater in the next 15 years.
Future of Mississippi dams in the Twin Cities under review
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding two public meetings as it considers what to do with three aging metro-area dams that transformed the once fast-moving Mississippi into a tranquil series of pools.
Nitrate contamination in groundwater is a problem in some areas of the state, and agriculture officials say they're trying to prevent it from becoming worse.
On a changing Mississippi, tourism's importance is growing
As the river faces increasing environmental threats and changing industries, there are signs the Mississippi's economy is transforming.