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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.

Rainy weather good for Minn. groundwater

While the forecast is bad news for people looking forward to nice spring weather, it is good news for our groundwater resources.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Justices send 3M case back to lower court

The suit has been at a standstill for the past two years as the two sides fight over representation. Attorneys for the Covington and Burling law firm previously worked for 3M on related issues, but later began representing the state of Minnesota in its lawsuit against the company.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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Isle Royale wolves decline; moose numbers double

Isle Royale wolves decline; moose numbers double

The wolf's decline on the island chain comes as its numbers in the nearby states of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin are also falling -- but for entirely different reasons.
by The Associated Press

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Judge delays ruling in bear researcher case

Chief Administrative Law Judge Tammy Pust agreed this week to reopen the record until Friday because of 28 pages of new documents from the Department of Natural Resources.
by Dan Kraker

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Prof cooks up menu to feed the world

Prof cooks up menu to feed the world

By 2050, researchers expect, we will reach a population of 9 billion. How will we feed those people without breaking the food bank?

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Twin Cities air clearing, report says

The American Lung Association says air quality is improving in the Twin Cities, and gave the metropolitan area its best ranking yet on particulate pollution caused from vehicle exhaust, power plant emissions and wood burning.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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Xcel 'studying' Supreme Court air pollution ruling

The rule was designed to protect downwind states from power plant pollution produced in 27 Midwestern and Appalachian states. But several upwind states and power companies had sued, arguing they should have a chance to determine how much they were contributing to pollution in other states.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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Court revives EPA rule on cross-state pollution

The decision caps a decades-long effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to find a legally acceptable way to ensure that states are good neighbors and don't contribute to pollution problems in downwind states.
by The Associated Press

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Should Minn. lawmakers allocate $70 million to tap water from South Dakota?

Should Minn. lawmakers allocate $70 million to tap water from South Dakota?

MPR News reporter Mark Steil has the latest in Beneath the Surface: Minnesota’s Pending Groundwater Challenge Heavy irrigation in farm country and increasing demand in the Twin Cities have raised recent concern among many Minnesotans about the adequacy of their water supplies. It’s an old problem in southwestern Minnesota, but one that is getting more…
by Michael Olson

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In southwest Minnesota, water costs rise, pipes get longer

In southwest Minnesota, water costs rise, pipes get longer

From Marshall to Mountain Lake to Worthington, southwestern Minnesota communities are finding that the hunt for an adequate supply of good water can get expensive.
by Mark Steil

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