Recent content from Chloe Johnson
U.S. Steel won't get exception to pollution rules that protect wild rice, MPCA says
The company had asked the state to raise limits for sulfate in Hay Lake, downstream of its Keetac taconite plant.
A plume of PFAS chemicals under the east metro is moving. The state has a plan to stop it.
Preliminary plans would include a broad and complex system of wells to control the underground flow.
Sealing up your home can fight climate change
An Edina woman knew her house could get drafty in the winter, so she signed up for a home energy audit to find out where cold and heat were getting in.
What a renter can do to fight climate change
Behavioral change, personal investments and even a conversation with your landlord can help reduce the carbon emissions from your rental home or apartment.
State says 10 water systems in the metro have unsafe levels of PFAS, under new EPA rule
It could cost $1 billion to remove PFAS or "forever chemicals" from Minnesota water supplies alone, but advocates say the costs are worth it to protect public health.
Minneapolis foundry failed to protect workers from breathing hazards, state inspectors say
Smith Foundry is contesting seven violations and penalties from the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration, with fines totaling $15,300.
AI could help track farm country's carbon emissions, U study says
A new study from the University of Minnesota suggests a machine learning model could help solve the tricky question of where planet-warming gases are escaping from soil.
Man shot in Minneapolis in front of his two toddlers, police say
There have been no arrests so far in the incident.
Dark history, hopes for future mix as Minnesota transfers state park to Dakota tribe
At a ceremony officially handing former state park lands back to Dakota tribe, Gov. Tim Walz bemoaned past treatment of tribes by the U.S. government
Bill would lift the secrecy around Minnesota's inspections of pet breeders
Bill authors say families deserve detailed information about the conditions their dogs and cats are raised in, but the breeding industry says the legislation would expose private business information.
PFAS is piling up in our trash. Can we keep it contained?
Minnesota landfills in Rosemount and St. Louis County are experimenting with methods to contain the "forever chemicals."
Minnesota's wildfire season has started, and risk is heightened through spring
Persistent drought and a record warm winter have led to dangerous conditions and fuel ready for ignition, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said.
Should companies pay to recycle their packaging? Some lawmakers want them to
A bill from Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, would put packaging companies on the hook, but some waste and recycling companies oppose it.
Helium is hiding below northern Minnesota. It could help fuel space exploration and medical tech.
Drillers looking for platinum and palladium stumbled on what may be a major helium reservoir in Minnesota. It is a sought-after commodity.
Minneapolis air quality dips as morning commute's pollution is trapped at ground level
A wintertime inversion trapped fine particles close to the ground, but conditions improved through the day.
We're addicted to PFAS. Can we adapt to live without?
As bans and other regulations come into effect, there still aren't replacements for the useful but damaging "forever chemicals."
Minneapolis foundry is moving toward settlement with EPA but isn't yet compliant
Smith Foundry in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis has been accused of breaking air pollution rules.
Pollution tests show Minneapolis foundry is controlling soot, releasing lead
Testing of Smith Foundry's smokestacks in December showed the soot filters on East Phillips factory's smokestacks are working, but the work didn't capture all emissions.
Group suggests making refineries pay to cut greenhouse gases from cars and trucks
Minnesota's proposed Clean Transportation Standard also favors scaling back the goals for carbon-free cars.
Reducing the Twin Cities' trash could start with buying used
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency hopes recycling, repair and reuse businesses will help to stem the mountain of garbage produced by the seven-county metro.
MnDOT lags in goal to better use road salt
Widespread salting of roads has led to pollution in streams and lakes across Minnesota
Thousands of Minnesotans gather to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy
An annual fundraiser breakfast in downtown Minneapolis drew the largest crowd since before the pandemic.
U.S. Supreme Court decision puts Minnesota's climate change lawsuit closer to its day in court
The highest court declined to take up a challenge to Attorney General Keith Ellison's lawsuit against six oil firms, clearing the path for the case to start back up in state court.
Shakopee metal recycler fined $140,000 for mishandling ozone-depleting and planet-warming chemicals
Dem-Con Metal Recycling didn't have a plan to capture CFCs and HFCs, and couldn't operate the necessary equipment during an EPA visit.
Odor complaints about Mpls. foundry, asphalt plant mostly went nowhere
Odor complaints about the Minneapolis foundry and asphalt plant mostly went nowhere.
Stalled NorthMet mine notches win in court, can keep air permit
State regulators judged to have followed rules in issuing air pollution permit to the NorthMet project, originally proposed by PolyMet and now owned by the partnership NewRange Copper Nickel.
Xcel fined $14K over unpermitted storage of radioactive water at Minnesota nuclear plant
After a leak of tritium at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Station was revealed in March, Xcel faced repeated challenges in collecting and storing the tainted water.
Dredging kept the Mississippi River open this year but creates its own problems
The Army Corps of Engineers spends tens of millions to maintain a shipping channel for barges on the Mississippi.
PolyMet mine faces new obstacle after judge recommends rejecting its permit
Administrative Law Judge James E. LaFave wrote that PolyMet's plan to block tailings seepage with bentonite clay would not meet state rules for reactive mine waste.
Residents confront officials over health issues linked to Mpls. foundry
In a draft list of violations released in August, the EPA said Smith Foundry had been polluting its neighborhood's air and breaking air quality limits for five years.
Minneapolis cuts off 'dead leg' pipe that tainted one street's water with orange filth
The city fixed the problem after Jim Hagen's years of complaints. Now he wants others to get the same relief.
MPCA: We have no evidence Smith Foundry polluted Minneapolis neighborhood
The Environmental Protection Agency made a surprise visit to the iron foundry in May, and said it found a raft of problems. But Minnesota regulators insist they don't have the data to show Smith released excess soot.
Lake that flows to Boundary Waters placed on state's list of polluted waters
Already impaired by taconite mine pollution, Birch Lake could face new threats from a proposed copper-nickel mine, environmentalists say.
Twin Metals gets go-ahead for drill plan in BWCA watershed
The mining company will be allowed to sink six holes to explore state minerals near Birch Lake in St. Louis County.
Pentagon investigating six sites in Minnesota for PFAS contamination of drinking water
At least two sites — Duluth airport and the National Guard's Camp Ripley — are already suspects for contamination.
With mine stalled, Twin Metals wants to drill exploratory holes in Boundary Waters watershed
Twin Metals asked to sink six new holes in northeastern Minnesota as it searches for copper, nickel and platinum group metals.
New research seeks solutions to clean drinking water without creating harmful chemicals
Scientists have known for years that treating water with chlorine or other chemicals can create toxic compounds; now, four teams will use EPA grants to find alternatives.
Minnesota gripped by worsening drought, with little rain in sight
The dryness is harming farmers' yields and cattle, and could dim fall colors.
University of Minnesota researcher digs into hidden world of lichen to measure the air we breathe
Natalia Mossmann Koch is testing the heavy metals absorbed by lichen as a low-cost way to measure air pollution.
Twin Metals lawsuit that sought to restart mine near BWCA tossed out
The proposed copper-nickel mine, which would be in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, has faced an uphill battle with the Biden Administration.
Wildfire smoke may drift into Minnesota throughout the fall, forecasts say
A year of record-breaking fires in Canada means it's likely that some blazes will continue to burn until snow starts falling.
Two mines want exemption from state pollution rule designed to protect wild rice
After 50 years, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is enforcing a limit on sulfates, which can convert to toxic sulfides that kill wild rice.
Another blow for copper-nickel mine as state Supreme Court tosses permit
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency didn't adequately consider the NorthMet mine's threat to water quality, the court ruled.
Man killed in shooting early Sunday in north Minneapolis
The man in his 20s was shot when an argument escalated outside an unlicensed nightclub, police said.
Minnesota health officials investigating after five children fall ill from raw milk
The cluster of cases are linked to the same source, but investigators are still trying to identify where the milk came from.
CDC says bites from lone star ticks are making people allergic to meat, but Minnesota cases are a mystery
A cluster of cases is located in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, far from the tick's known range in the southern and eastern United States.
Funding shortfall casts doubt on Mississippi River lock and dam study in Twin Cities
The Army Corps of Engineers was awarded a quarter of the money it wanted to study whether to keep, sell or remove two locks and dams on the river between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Leaked radioactive water may have reached Mississippi River, state says no danger to public
Xcel Energy's Monticello Nuclear Generating Station sprung a tritium leak last year, and containing the underground radiation has proved a challenge.
Minnesota locked in global dilemma: More copper and nickel are needed, but mine development slow
There's a not-in-my-backyard mentality surrounding new hardrock mine projects.
More Canadian smoke will arrive in Minnesota Friday and Saturday, could linger Sunday
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said it's likely they will extend a roughly 36-hour warning for wildfire smoke.
Search continues for three missing after swimming in Vermillion River near Red Wing
Two men and a girl disappeared under the water at the confluence with the Mississippi River and haven't been seen again.
You asked about Minnesota's bad air quality and wildfire smoke. We answered
The Star Tribune asked readers for their questions on Canadian wildfire smoke and bad air quality. We've gathered some answers — and tips on how to protect yourself and your family.
Health experts explain how to keep Minnesota kids safe outside when air quality dips
Wildfire smoke has forced Twin Cities parks and schools to cancel some outdoor programs this summer.
![Smoke from Canadian wildfires is seen on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 in St. Paul, Minnesota. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/FBV7GWKWGU3QBPB3OD2WLAR2CE.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Wildfire smoke triggers another bad air quality warning in Minnesota through Thursday
Smoke from two different regions in Canada has combined to make the air unhealthy for all groups.
![Pulling core samples from Talon Metals' proposed Tamarack Mine site Friday, April 14, 2023 north of Tamarack, Minn. ] Brian Peterson ¥ brian.peterson](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/UVK4CL4ZJUXVKZBXQKDEC56M64.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Talon's Minnesota mine plan raises a familiar question: Can nickel be extracted safely?
Talon Metals' high-grade nickel mine has the backing of Tesla and the White House, but the Mille Lacs tribe worries about threats to wild rice.
Talon Metals releases plan for Minnesota nickel mine that would supply Tesla
The project is likely to receive the same scrutiny over its pollution potential that has stalled two other proposed hardrock mines.
Air quality alert expanded as pollution reaches record levels
At 6 p.m., St. Paul had the worst air quality in the United States. "I think it's fair to say probably this one now is the worst episode in the Twin Cities," an air quality meteorologist with the MPCA said as the agency expanded its advisory into central Minnesota until early Friday.
Summertime drought returns to Minnesota, with little rain in sight
Dry conditions across most of the state are worrying farmers and raising the risk of wildfires.
How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke when it returns to Minnesota this summer
As Canadian blazes send haze down to Minnesota, New York and elsewhere, there are ways to avoid the damage from fine particles in the air, experts said.
NorthMet copper nickel mine loses key permit over threat to tribal water quality
The mine project launched by PolyMet, now run by NewRange Copper Nickel, may have to significantly change its design to get a new wetlands permit.
Minnesota puts a cost estimate on getting toxic PFAS out of wastewater: At least $14 billion
The study offered a wide range of costs — up to $28 billion — to implement still-new technologies that would remove and destroy "forever chemicals" from wastewater.
Minnesota rule rewrite will expand mining noise and light protections around Boundary Waters
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources concluded it needs to expand a protective buffer around the Boundary Waters to protect the area from light and noise pollution.
Minnesota spends almost $9 million to stop mine pit from flooding Iron Range town
The appropriation for a permanent fix for the small town of Bovey was approved after decades of discussion on how to drain the Canisteo Mine Pit.
Minnesota spending $240M to get lead out of your plumbing
Homeowners may not see their pipes replaced immediately but should know in the next year whether their service lines are lead.
Hennepin County must plan to close incinerator or risk $26 million for organics recycling facility
A condition slipped into the state's infrastructure borrowing bill is a boon to activists.
Ellison asks feds to regulate health harms from gas kitchen stoves
Keith Ellison and nine other attorneys general asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to crack down on NO2 and other pollution from gas cooktops.
More wildfire smoke is headed for Minnesota — and could keep coming all summer
Canadian wildfires are burning earlier than expected this year and could bring poor air quality on and off through the summer.
Lawmakers reach historic deal on environment, climate, energy
The bill features a broad ban on PFAS and $1 billion in new spending for environment and energy projects.
Chrome plater will pay $1.4 million for PFAS contamination in Minneapolis lakes
Douglas Corp. in St. Louis Park has been a suspected source of PFAS and chromium for years, and agreed to a settlement with MPCA and DNR.
Rail deal means more hazardous materials sent through Twin Cities area
The Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger will bring tens of thousands more carloads per year of hazardous materials.
