Ground Level Blog

Metropolitan Council stormwater reuse experts Ali Elhassan and Brian Davis will join MPR News Wednesday at noon to take your questions about making better use of stormwater. As concerns increase about how much water Minnesotans are pumping out of the ground for domestic, agricultural, industrial and other uses, one idea that can reduce that pressure…
Minnesota legislators agreed to spend $20 million on broadband infrastructure, creating a system for communities to propose projects and supply matching money.
Water costs rise, consumer bills vary widely by city
Water rates have been rising all over the country, but they vary widely from one city to another. Minneapolis is in the middle of the pack; St. Paul falls into the lower third of cities when it comes to the price of water.
White Bear Lake doc deals with more than water level
A White Bear Township resident has created a 27-minute documentary on the shrinking White Bear Lake and the larger water conservation issue it invokes.
Look up your town on Wilder’s new Minnesota data
Wilder Research has added material to its Minnesota Compass data site — demographic profiles of towns greater than 1,000.
8 stray Minnesota facts from the new farm census
Honey, horses, goats and other stray Minnesota facts from the 2012 ag census released Friday.
Minnesotans raise their hands for FCC broadband money
The Federal Communications Commission is exploring how to pay for extending broadband service in rural areas, and more than 60 projects in Minnesota have been proposed by communities around the state.
Climate change might change when and how fast rain falls, and that, in turn, could have a dramatic effect on how fast groundwater is recharged.
Across rural Minnesota, water woes threaten to choke small town growth
A rural Minnesota research group is suggesting that water availability is becoming an economic bottleneck and that development is being threatened by a need to re-build water and sewage systems around the state.
Drinking from a limestone quarry in Burnsville and Savage
Burnsville and Savage find a water solution that preserves a sensitive environmental area and gives some assurance for a long-time supply of drinking water.