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.

A 'tropical disease' carried by sand flies is confirmed in a new country: the U.S.
Leishmaniasis, a disease spread by a parasite carried by sand flies, is generally considered a tropical disease. Now, thanks to climate change, new research finds it's endemic to the United States.
To control rabies in wildlife, the USDA drops vaccine treats from the sky
Every year, the USDA drops millions of oral rabies vaccines across fourteen states, mostly along the eastern seaboard. In urban and suburban areas, they use vehicles, but in rural areas, they drop the vaccines from planes.
Minnesota DNR gives Twin Metals green light to explore for minerals near Boundary Waters
Twin Metals, which has been blocked by the Biden administration in its efforts to build a $1.7 billion copper-nickel mine near Ely, Minn., now has the go-ahead to explore for minerals in the area owned by the state of Minnesota.
Southeast Minnesota struggles for common ground on nitrate pollution as health worries rise
In a petition filed in April, environmental groups asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use its emergency powers under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to intervene in what they call an “imminent and substantial endangerment to human health.”
How extreme weather in the U.S. may have affected the pumpkins you picked this year for Halloween
Some pumpkin farmers in the West, particularly wholesalers in places like Colorado and New Mexico, are feeling the pinching effects of drought. Farmers have had to rely on dwindling water for irrigation while battling wacky weather to get their crops planted on time.
University of Minnesota to collaborate with tribal groups in first-of-its-kind CWD plan
The University of Minnesota will collaborate with tribal communities from across the state to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease. The initiative will be one of the first tribal CWD management plans in the U.S.  
Fargo-Moorhead flood control project marks milestone
Federal, state and local officials are marking a milestone in construction of the $3.2 billion Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project. A structure that will help divert Red River flood water around Fargo-Moorhead has been completed.