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Minnesota Public Radio ×
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Massive new solar plot marks big changes in rural Minnesota

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

19 October 2016

North Branch, Minnesota, United States

Multi-Media

Under 800 Words

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A new solar array called North Star in the Twin Cities will soon produce enough energy to power more than 20,000 homes. The project allows landowners to evolve beyond a deteriorating farming industry while maintaining...

Building upgrades give downtown St. Paul smaller energy footprint

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

11 October 2016

St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Madison Equities is investing in significant efficiency upgrades to a number of buildings in downtown St. Paul, overhauling their energy systems in an upgrade driven in part by tenants' interest in energy efficiency a...

Camp shines light on solar energy for kids

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

22 August 2016

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Novel solar projects are helping to make renewable energy more accessible and transparent for low income and minority communities in Minnesota. An interfaith cooperative provides families access to solar energy garden...

Climate scientists trained to be on hot seat

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

4 August 2016

St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Testimony from scientists can be crucial for lawmakers, judges, and juries in making critical decisions that impact their communities. The Expert Witness Training Academy program at Mitchell Hamline School of Law pair...

Taking a conservative approach to clean energy

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

25 July 2016

St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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As consumers across the country increasingly demand access to cleaner, more affordable energy and traditional coal plants become more expensive to operate, a new group is working to give conservatives a voice in natur...

Smaller Minnesota cities take the lead in sustainability

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

17 June 2016

Burnsville, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Global climate change might seem to call for global action, but there are efforts going on in places you wouldn't necessarily look, with countless examples in cities across Minnesota.

Researchers work to make milk greener

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

31 May 2016

Morris, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Researchers at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center are looking for ways to make producing dairy milk less energy intensive - something consumers are increasingly demanding. They hav...

Without support, Minnesota students left behind at graduation

Minnesota Public Radio

Laura Yuen

Brandt Williams

7 March 2016

St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

Radio

Over 15 Minutes

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Minnesota's students of color graduate at rates lower than their counterparts in nearly every state. A lack of spending on student support statewide may have something to do with it.

After decades of draining, some MN farmers look to put water back

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Gunderson

29 April 2015

Moorhead, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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An experiment to recollect water from drainage ditches could open the door to a better way to irrigate fields and manage water in a changing climate.

Minnesota ramps up hunt for arsenic in wells

Minnesota Public Radio

Jennifer Vogel

26 March 2015

Saint Michael, Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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A new three-year project between the health department and the U.S. Geological Survey designed to improve the way arsenic, a carcinogen, is measured in private wells and to develop guidelines to help contractors avoid...

As climate changes, cities grapple with big rains

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Kraker

4 February 2015

Duluth, Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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While some parts of the United States struggle with drought, others are faced with more water than they know what to do with. Minnesota reconstructs roads and drainage systems in order to be more prepared for the larg...

Farmers adapt to big rains but send trouble downstream

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

4 February 2015

Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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Confronting more frequent heavy rains, the state's farmers have extended farmland drainage. Higher crop yields is one result. Another: More dirty water is flowing downstream.

Getting water to crops when they're thirstiest pays off

Minnesota Public Radio

Jennifer Vogel

2 October 2014

Wadena, Minnesota, United States

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1500-3000 Words

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A growing program in central Minnesota measures rates of "evapotranspiration," or loss of water in fields, using a complex formula involving solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature and other factors.

Minnesota starts to think about re-using wastewater

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

4 August 2014

Mankato, Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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Mankato, where treated wastewater is used for everything from irrigation to industrial cooling, is one of the few places around this water-rich state where water is being recycled in this way. But as concerns about th...

Quest to save groundwater aims at love for lush, green lawns

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

10 July 2014

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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New technology, more aggressive pricing structures, and shifting attitudes are beginning to change how some Minnesotans view and care for their lawns.

State officials promise tougher approach on nitrates contaminating groundwater

Minnesota Public Radio

Mark Steil

7 July 2014

Worthington, Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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Minnesota farmers are closely following the debate over how best to manage nitrates. Many farmers—no one knows the number exactly–are already taking action to lower their use of nitrates, which can contaminate water.

Golf courses start to reuse stormwater to keep grass green

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Dunbar

5 June 2014

Woodbury, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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A few communities are using stormwater to keep golf courses, baseball and soccer fields green or to irrigate public landscapes.

Rain Man: How one Tucson resident harvests the rain

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Kraker

29 May 2014

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Text

800-1500 Words

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Some Tucson residents have begun looking at water as a crop, something to harvest to lessen the reliance of Tucson's burgeoning population on water sucked from the ground and imported from the Colorado River.

Tucson's water ethic: Blueprint for Minnesota?

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Kraker

27 May 2014

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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Forty years ago, Tuscon faced a water crisis. Now, even after decades of population and economic growth, water consumption has been declining and, under much of the city, groundwater levels have been rising, due in eq...

What Minnesota can learn from Arizona about water

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Kraker

27 May 2014

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Text

1500-3000 Words

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Tucson, AZ, adopted measures, such as limiting new wells and making water rights sellable, that have slashed per capita water consumption by 35 percent. It is now considered a national leader in water conservation and...

Desert city uses water, then uses it again

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Kraker

27 May 2014

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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Tucson has slashed its per capita water consumption by more than a third, and one of the more startling ways it's done that is by reusing water after it's flushed down the toilet or run through a washing machine.

A first in Minnesota, cities launch system to treat, stash water underground

Minnesota Public Radio

Jennifer Vogel

16 April 2014

Saint Michael, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Capturing water during times of plenty, storing it underground, and pulling it out later when it's needed—it's a strategy used in the western and southeastern parts of the country, and now, for the first time, in Minn...

From fish to pipes, Minnesota firms see opportunity in growing water challenge

Minnesota Public Radio

Martin Moylan

14 April 2014

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

Radio

3-5 Minutes

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Creating an indoor aquaculture operation in an old brewery is, oddly enough, using surprisingly little water.

Even in region with abundant water, residents turn to bottles and try to conserve

Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Baier

20 March 2014

Fountain, Minnesota, United States

Radio

5-15 Minutes

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Some communities are being forced to take steps—sometimes costly ones, like digging deeper wells—to both tap and protect their groundwater.

Big rise in irrigation pumping draws DNR attention to Minnesota's 'Bonanza Valley'

Minnesota Public Radio

Dan Haugen

19 February 2014

Belgrade, Minnesota, United States

Text

1500-3000 Words

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Minnesotans are being prodded to take a different look at how they use water and how to make sure an apparent abundance can be made to last.

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Photos are licensed under Attribution Non Commercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license / Desaturated from original, and are credited to the following photographers:

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Photo Credit: Sonia Narang