Environment

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is expanding its electric school bus program using three million dollars from the state’s settlement with Volkswagen over exaggerated fuel efficiency claims.

Minnesota officials on Thursday approved plans for the expansion of a solar energy project in Becker, Minn. that a utility says will be one of the largest in the country with the capability of powering more than 150,000 homes.

Mounting activism and recent action by the Legislature is putting renewed pressure on Hennepin County to close an incinerator that burns 1,100 tons of trash every day in downtown Minneapolis.

Minnesota prison officials say preliminary results from a new round of testing show the water at the Stillwater correctional facility is safe to drink — but testing at a different state prison, in Lino Lakes, found lead in some of the water there.

The White House says the program will provide paid training to 20,000 Americans in its first year. It’s much smaller than its New Deal predecessor, but targets a more diverse group of young people.

You may have noticed some leaves have already been falling around Minnesota — in some cases weeks before the annual autumn color change. That includes oak leaves, and even branches, that are raining down — and wouldn't you know it, squirrels are to blame.

More K-12 school districts are installing solar energy systems, saving them thousands of dollars in utility bills. But initial startup costs can halt a lot of them in their tracks. A state grant program allows more districts to make the transition to solar energy.

In a forceful opinion, District Court Judge Leslie Metzen wrote that as respected members of Anishinaabe tribes, Winona LaDuke, Tania Aubid and Dawn Goodwin were exercising their free speech rights and spiritual beliefs.

North Dakota utility regulators will reconsider their denial of a siting permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline. The panel last month denied a siting permit for Summit Carbon Solutions' 320-mile proposed route through the state.

The protest comes after a summer of extreme weather events and just ahead of a U.N. summit aimed at prodding global leaders to cut emissions more quickly.