Environmental News

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Getting to Green: Minnesota’s energy future

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Minnesota State Fair hosts another llama-alpaca costume contest for the ages
The Minnesota State Fair’s Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum was bursting with applause and chuckles as a herd of llamas and alpacas strutted their stuff alongside their 4-H student handlers Wednesday at the annual costume contest that saw a hungry caterpillar, plenty of wigs and lots of repurposed pants.
State looks to limit ‘forever chemicals’ in wastewater from 3M’s Cottage Grove plant
It will be the first time Minnesota has required an industry to limit PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in its wastewater. 3M’s Cottage Grove plant, the epicenter of the global PFAS problem, has been operating under a permit that expired more than 20 years ago.
Native plants, lots of patience: How a Stearns County couple restored a damaged lakeshore
Richard and Mary Gallea spent 20 years transforming their property on the Sauk River Chain of Lakes to a colorful native landscape. It’s helped to keep their lake clean. Here’s how they did it.
Blue Earth County votes to remove Rapidan Dam; remove and replace County Road 9 bridge
The project to remove and replace the County Road 9 bridge could take a couple years. Detours have been in place since last month because of safety concerns caused by severe flooding damage.
Not a fish story: the DNR’s Minnesota State Fair cabin turns 90
An important part of a Minnesota State Fair oasis turns 90 this year. The Department of Natural Resources has long maintained a large exhibit, including a 1934 Civilian Conservation Corps-constructed log cabin and popular fish pond. But the DNR booth has evolved over the years.
Cost is a barrier as cities prepare for wild weather in a changing climate
Minnesota cities are making plans to prepare for the impact of climate change. State grants help cities develop plans for updating infrastructure to manage more frequent extreme rain events but finding the money to make those plans a reality is a big challenge.
Latest fatal landslide in Alaska kills 1 and injures 3 in Ketchikan, a popular cruise ship stop
A landslide cut a path down a steep, thickly forested hillside and crashed into several homes in Ketchikan, Alaska, killing one person and injuring three in the latest such disaster to strike the mountainous region.