Recent content from Jennifer Bjorhus
Farmers, gas stations sue Gov. Tim Walz over Minnesota 'clean car' rule
Cutting demand for gasoline and liquid fuels will hurt Minnesota businesses, plaintiffs argue.
How recyclers defuse the climate bomb inside your old refrigerator
As the U.S. phases down a climate super-pollutant in refrigerants, the EPA is developing new regulations to catch more of the gases before they escape into the atmosphere.
Minnesota will restrict snare and leghold traps to protect rare Canada lynx in Arrowhead
The decision settles a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity but was opposed by trapper groups.
Here's how you can reduce salt use on your icy sidewalk
Sanding, scraping and sweeping will all help reduce salt runoff into lakes.
'Low Salt, No Salt Minnesota' targets private contractors
New initiative is aimed at those who weren't getting the message about reducing salt use on icy pavements to fight water pollution: private property owners.
Minnesota's greenhouse gas emissions show steep drop
The disruption of the pandemic contributed to that decline, but officials said factors go beyond that.
Minnesota auto dealers lose court fight with state pollution regulators over 'clean car' rule
Industry group likely to ask state Supreme Court to hear the case.
'Carbon Express' pipeline runs into skepticism in Minnesota farm country
A massive project to store climate-harming emissions from ethanol plants hinges on landowners.
Maverick Minnesota lawyers looking for wastewater polluters target cities, businesses
A law firm that has targeted hundreds of businesses over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act has a new focus: water pollution.
New honeybee vaccine gets little buzz from Minnesota bee community
The USDA has approved the first-ever vaccine for honeybees. But Minnesota's beekeepers say their troubles are bigger.
How to save the lynx from extinction? It starts with poop
Two decades after they were declared a threatened species, Canada lynx still need a recovery plan. Their poop, which researchers and volunteers collect in Minnesota, could be crucial in preservation efforts.
Family's unplowed prairie to become one of state's newest refuges
Scientific and Natural Areas are a key tool in the state's fight to save species from extinction.
Mpls. offers incentives for EV chargers in new garages after state code blocks requirement
Estimates are as high as $5,000 in prewiring costs to make a garage stall ready for electric vehicle charging, officials say
Eyeing surplus, DNR to try again for huge outdoors investment
In the last session, the department asked lawmakers for more than $300 million for one-time projects around the state, but left largely empty-handed after major spending bills collapsed under partisan spending disagreements.
Peggy Douglass, who died at age 61, touched lives over three decades at Hennepin County human services
Her motto: "Thanks for coming to work!"
Local companies retool to remove climate villain from your fridge and AC
This year, the United States started phasing down a lesser-known but powerful greenhouse gas: hydrofluorocarbons.
Enbridge to pay $7M, faces criminal charge after Line 3 pipeline breached aquifer
Pipeline construction linked to three aquifer breaches. Company faces misdemeanor charge in one instance.
Ravenous earthworms are destroying a ghostly fern and endangering Minnesota forests
Minnesota's Chippewa National Forest is home to most of the world's population of goblin ferns. But time may be running out for the ancient ferns as surrounding forest floors are destroyed by a voracious invader: Earthworms.
How you can help Minnesota's most endangered animals and plants
Across the state, people are taking measures to save vulnerable species at risk of extinction. Here's what you can do.
This butterfly disappeared from Minnesota. Biologists now fight to save the last few in the world
Beginning in the early 2000s, the Poweshiek skipperling population suddenly cratered in Minnesota, for reasons that aren't yet fully clear. Researchers at the Minnesota Zoo are part of a last-ditch effort to stop the species from dying out.
Minnesota's transition to electric vehicles is long, bumpy
Changes are underway, but the gap between climate goals and reality is wide.
Its habitat decimated, this charismatic Minnesota bird is dancing on the edge of oblivion
Minnesota's prairie chickens were once so abundant their flocks cast shadows on the ground. But like so many other species, they're dying out.
Minnesota set to clamp down on greenhouse gases: 'It's a big, heavy lift'
State's new climate plan calls for faster, deeper cuts in global warming gases.
6th mass extinction is underway in Minn. — but squads of defenders are fighting back
The list of species at risk of statewide extinction grows ever longer. But these vulnerable plants and animals have defenders: In Blaine, scientists and volunteers mobilized to rescue a patch of rare bristle-berries from road construction.
These 50 animals and plants have disappeared from Minnesota
Scientists know the actual number of extirpated species is much larger, but we don't have a full picture of what species have lived here.
Dozens of Line 3 protesters in Minnesota still face prosecution
Enbridge-funded public safety account paid $8.6 million for policing Line 3 construction.
5 changes Minnesotans will likely see from the historic climate bill
The Inflation Reduction Act has the potential to transform the way we drive, heat our homes and grow our food.
Water spills again from aquifer breached by northern Minnesota pipeline
Groundwater was discovered bubbling from a breach that Enbridge Energy said it had sealed last year.
How the little, polluted Crow River clouds the Mississippi
The Crow is the first major agricultural river emptying into the mighty waterway, and it doubles the Mississippi's nutrient pollution, state officials say, adding phosphorous, nitrogen and sediment.
Extinction threat may be greater than known, study finds
Nearly one in three species of all kinds — 30% — face global extinction or have been driven to extinction since the year 1500, according to research led by the University of Minnesota.
Wetland delineation? There's an app for that
St. Paul startup creates BioApp to cut time surveying wetlands.
Mendota Heights nixes homeowner's bluff-top landscaping without permit
The property lies in the protected Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area.
Long-awaited federal study finds threat to Boundary Waters from hardrock mining
The study was hailed by environmentalists seeking a ban on mining in the Superior National Forest.
EPA tightens the health standard for 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
Even as they widen testing for PFAS in water supplies, Minnesota officials criticized the change as impossible to measure.
Minnesota car dealers file new legal action in fight against 'clean car' rules
The rules will require auto makers to send Minnesota more electric vehicles.
Human rights, conservation groups oppose Cargill's bid to open new port in Brazil
Locals dispute land deal as forests and native vegetation continued to be razed for soy and cattle.
3M will pay $2.8 million fine for hazardous waste violations in Cottage Grove
The penalty stemmed from the handling of toxic waste at the company's incinerator.
Farmers in Minnesota get more cover crop funding to keep soil from washing away
"There just aren't the federal resources to meet the need," said Todd Hogrefe with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Fond du Lac Band says it will be downstream victim of PolyMet mine pollution
Tribe finds ally in EPA, but the mining company disputes the threat.
What you need to know about the PolyMet and Twin Metals mines
Here are answers to common questions about the two planned mining projects in northeastern Minnesota and the controversies surrounding them.
Man charged with murder after fatally stabbing father making 911 call
A 24-year-old Blue Earth County man has been charged with two counts of second degree murder after fatally stabbing his father following a dispute over…
Minnesota falling short on new national land and water conservation goal
Minnesota continues to buy land for safeguards from development, but isn't speaking out on the "30x30" conservation movement, a voluntary goal to conserve at least 30% of the country's land and water by 2030.
Minnesota's climate action plan calls for sweeping changes in energy, farming, transport
The state is taking public comments through April 29.
In court and in skies, tribe carries on challenge to Line 3 pipeline
The White Earth Band of Ojibwe says it has detected a half-dozen other sites where aquifers may be damaged.
Joyce Veda Abel, health advocate, dies at 79
Abel taught nursing at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.
DNR: Enbridge crews punctured 3 aquifers during pipeline work
The punctures led to nearly 300 million gallons of groundwater flowing out to the surface, with the most serious breach occurring near the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation in St. Louis County.
Anonymous donor buys northern Minnesota ski resort for parkland
A county park and campground are scheduled to open near Park Rapids in 2024.
These are Minnesota's top greenhouse gas polluters
About 100 facilities in Minnesota generate about 25% of the state's total greenhouse gases.
Ethanol's clean air benefits clouded by greenhouse gas emissions
Corn ethanol's per-gallon carbon output shrinks, but greenhouse gas from plants remains high.
Trees felled in heron rookery near Rochester
Trees were cut amid litigation by conservationists to stop a housing development planned for the site.
Drastic water-use changes proposed to steady White Bear Lake levels
State regulators say court order would require them to limit people to 55 gallons of water per day, and cut off other water users such as schools and businesses altogether.
Minnesota DNR stops work on copper mine project near Boundary Waters
Company says it's mulling legal options.
A climate conundrum beneath our feet: Minnesota's farmed peat soil releases greenhouse gases
The state is unsure how to address emissions from the soil.
Mining, love of BWCA struggle to coexist in North Woods gateway
After Twin Metals mining lease cancellation, Ely residents weigh the future.
Biden administration cancels leases for controversial copper-nickel mine near Boundary Waters
The move likely kills the copper-nickel project, but Twin Metals said the decision was politically motivated and vowed to fight it.
New federal lawsuit says PolyMet process violated Endangered Species Act
Plaintiffs say the proposed copper-nickel mine would threaten animal habitat.
Appeals court strikes down another permit for state's first planned copper mine
The court sends PolyMet's water discharge permit back to state regulators for more work.
Shooting following funeral in Minneapolis leaves two in critical condition
About 100 people were at the post-funeral gathering
Minnesota COVID patient at center of lawsuit over his ventilator dies in Texas hospital
Buffalo man's family sued Mercy Hospital to keep him on a ventilator
Enbridge says it has fixed aquifer ruptured while building Line 3 oil pipeline in Minnesota
State regulators continue investigating two additional aquifer breaches along Line 3.
More gear coming to help boaters contain invasive starry stonewort algae on Minnesota lakes
Crews are installing 28 new boat cleaning stations on Minnesota lakes infested with starry stonewort.
Minnesota teen wins Ann Bancroft grant for app to reduce litter
16-year-old Anushka Kollengode of Rochester plans to use award to market her mobile app.
Meetings set to gather public input on proposal to halt new mineral leases near Boundary Waters
There will be three Zoom meetings in January
PolyMet did not deceive state on mine's planned size, Minnesota regulators decide
MPCA approves air permit for what would be state's first hard-rock mine, but the project faces other obstacles.
Electric vehicle revolution brings changes to Minn. garages
With more vehicles on the way, the focus on at-home charging intensifies.
U campus cuts climate-changing emissions by half since 2008
The number puts the Twin Cities campus at No. 2 in the Big Ten 10 for carbon cuts. Its 51% drop in greenhouse gases was largely attributed to increased energy efficiency and greener power.
Winona County rejects dairy farm expansion
Tie vote means the request to add thousands of animals failed.
High levels of arsenic found in well water in northeast Minn. township
Residents are scrambling for a treatment solution after a test found arsenic levels at 10 times the acceptable limit.
Line 3 opponents plan flyover with thermal imaging of pipeline
Opponents say thermal imaging will show potential damage.
Minnesotans join push for change at U.N. climate summit
Panels broadcast from Glasgow highlight Minnesota climate efforts.
Environment, center stage: How Hastings students got an outdoor learning lab
The Hastings School District acquired 56 acres of restored grasslands on the Vermillion River in an usual land deal — one with a cast of…
Conversion of grasslands to crops threatens state's wildlife, water, climate
Minnesota lost nearly 2 million acres of grassland to crops from 2012 to 2019, according to the World Wildlife Fund's Northern Great Plains program. That's more than the state of Delaware.
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Feds hit brakes again on copper mining near Boundary Waters
The future of the Twin Metals copper-mine project is in question.
Court decision affirming Limbo Creek is not a ditch could affect waterways across Minnesota
The case out of Renville County could lead to more environmental review.
Oil flows through Line 3, but cleanup work remains
Enbridge has launched a major cleanup effort in Clearwater County to repair an aquifer crews punctured during construction in January. Artesian groundwater has been welling up for more than eight months, wasting at least 24 million gallons and threatening to dry out two rare and protected wetland areas nearby.
