It’s deer season. Nearly a million Minnesotans will buy a deer license and head for a favorite patch of field or forest. About 40% of them will be successful and bag a deer. I won’t be one of them. (more…)

Guest post: Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director

President Obama deserves kudos for the plan he put forth last week to put Americans back to work and renew our nation’s role as a global leader in innovation.  I was glad to hear him renew his commitments to protecting Americans from toxic mercury pollution, ending subsidies for Big Oil, and building a clean energy economy that works for all Americans. (more…)

Written by Ben Hellerstein, Sierra Club Legislative Intern

Concerned park-goers gather at the Rally for our State Parks hosted by the Sierra Club and environmental partner groups

We’re well into the second week of the Minnesota state government shutdown. Closing down many of the functions of state government for a few weeks might seem like a great way to save money, especially since budget negotiators still need to close a several-billion-dollar gap between state spending and revenues for the next biennium. In reality, the shutdown will cost the state tens of millions of dollars in additional expenses and lost revenues, like the $52 million a month that the laid-off tax auditors in the Department of Revenue would ordinarily bring in. (more…)

March 31, 2011

Last night, Steve Morse was interviewed on Fox 9 News about the Minnesota Legislature’s cuts to environmental funding. Here’s the video: (more…)

March 26, 2011

This week included the first day of spring, the latest snow storm, and the consideration and action on many, many budget bills from the Minnesota House and the Senate!

Late this week the House Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee and the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee passed out their versions of the omnibus budgets for the Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Board of Water and Soil Resources, and other parts of state agencies and divisions. (more…)

Yesterday, Feb. 2, 2011, the Minnesota Senate voted 50-14 to approve Senate File 4, a bill that lifts the ban on the construction of new nuclear plants in Minnesota.

Senate DFLers offered five amendments — including provisions on ratepayer protections, waste storage issues, and reprocessing restrictions — all of which failed.

Here’s the breakdown of the votes: (more…)

You’ve heard all about it — energy efficiency, recycled materials, stormwater reuse, and more — but have you been inside it?  Marty Broan put together a slideshow after attending Wednesday’s game, featuring Target Field’s green elementss, and Liz Hunt took photos and did commentary after attending Opening Day.

John Tuma’s Capitol Update – February 19, 2010

“There is Governor Ames himself.” 

These were the words whispered in a low husky voice from one of four horse riders wearing long white cattle dusters as they rode across the bridge into Northfield, Minnesota, on what would become a fateful day in September of 1876.  Unfortunately for the would-be bank robbers, the words were overheard by Adelbert Ames as he walked past the riders on well-bred horses as he was leaving town from a meeting at the First National Bank. 

(more…)

Conservation Minnesota’s northwest blogger, Kristin Eggerling, reports enthusiastically on a conference to help develop locally-based food systems.

The conference begins on Monday, February 15 at Southwest State University in Marshall with a local food and wine reception with music, short films and clips about community-based food systems.  On Tuesday the conference will be broadcast at a number of college campuses in the 7th congressional district, including the University of Minnesota-Crookston, the University of Minnesota-Morris, Bemidji State University and Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls and will feature a keynote speech by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack who will be attending in Marshall.

More here.

Cindy Gentz of Grand Marais offers an interesting point of view:

We all hear daily speculations about the state of the economy. Some pundits believe we are on the cusp of seeing a turn around in the housing market while others are very skeptical of any success in the near future.  People talk about the jobs lost, the homes lost, the disillusionment nation-wide.  A few young people put a positive spin on things by saying that houses are finally affordable again for those who have just graduated college.  However, I have heard no one on the radio or TV talk about the other big positive of the Great Recession: the Great Respite it has given the environment.