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.

In NW Wisconsin, a county finds paying homeowners to keep shorelines natural pays off
Advocates concerned about Minnesota’s vanishing wild shorelines often cite Burnett County’s success with a program that sends a check each year to property owners who follow its lakeshore rules. At Warner Lake, it’s helping keep the water clean.
‘Quit mowing’: Turning Minnesota lake homeowners into shoreline stewards, one lawn at a time
A program born in the Brainerd Lakes Area to protect natural shorelines and curb pollution also wants to reset Minnesota’s lake culture. It’s led by property owners, including some who helped create the current environmental problems.
In the Twin Cities, mapping the warming urban heat island to prepare for an even hotter future
This summer, volunteers collected detailed temperature and humidity data across Hennepin and Ramsey counties. It’s part of an effort to map the urban heat island in the Twin Cities to help plan for climate change-fueled extreme heat.
Unchecked development, lax regulation push Minnesota lakeshores to the edge
Development has destroyed nearly half the natural shorelines that help protect Minnesota lakes from erosion and pollution. Reversing that means convincing people that their vision of beauty is killing the thing they love.
Protecting Minnesota’s vanishing natural shorelines
Many Minnesota lakes are in trouble. Nearly half of our state’s natural shorelines have been lost. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about how to prevent shoreline erosion on the lakes we love.