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.

Northern Minnesota's St. Louis River comes back to life, but it's still not in the clear
The lake sturgeon are returning. Pollution levels are lower than they've been in years. And the Lake Superior waterway is in a tenuous period of revival after years of languishing under industrial decay.
MPR Special event: The impact of climate change on public health
MPR's Cathy Wurzer hosted a special event in Rochester about the impact of climate change on public health.
On water issues in Minnesota
Deborah Swackhammer, co-director of the University of Minnesota's Water Resources Center, and reporters from MPR News and Iowa Public Radio discuss clean water issues across Minnesota.
Appetites: The Water Bar
Northeast Minneapolis' Water Bar aims to share the importance and process behind getting clean tap water to your faucet, on demand.
Great Lakes group approves Waukesha's water request
The Wisconsin city's bid to pump about 8 million gallons of water a day from Lake Michigan would be the first exemption to a part of a landmark compact designed to protect the Great Lakes.
Should farmers or city pay to clean the water? Iowa may decide
A Des Moines Water Works lawsuit could bring historic change to water regulation and farm economics across the country. A key question: Should farmers be held liable for the pollution draining from their fields?
Jim Brandenburg's '93 Days of Spring'
Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg's latest work featured in National Geographic Magazine tells the story of spring in 93 photographs.
Random acts of conservation: Water quality depends on farmers' willingness, not regulation
Roughly 40 percent of Minnesota's lakes and streams are polluted, mostly thanks to soil, fertilizer and other contaminants flowing off farm fields. With little regulation, reversing that trend is almost solely reliant on the goodwill of farmers.
Mississippi River carp barrier plan snagged by U internal dispute
Plans for an invasive carp barrier on the Mississippi River near Winona are caught in a dispute between a key scientist and the University of Minnesota. As a result, the future of the project is uncertain.