February 1, 2008 - Governor Pawlenty is calling for repeal of Minnesota's moratorium on new nuclear power plants. It's part of his preliminary action plan on climate change. He also wants to reduce red tape for renewable energy projects. His proposals are included in a report sent to the legislature today. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
March 19, 2008 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports on ATVs in the north woods. The U.S. Forest Service is about to make a major decision about where ATVs can go and cannot go in the vast Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Segment includes various interviews of residents and environmentalists.
March 19, 2008 - The Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota, home to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is planning to close some roads, and designate others for all-terrain-vehicle use. Matt Norton, a member of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, says the agency wants to convert too many old logging trails into permanent roads, encouraging motorized recreation at the expense of quiet sports.
April 1, 2008 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports that there are urgent new efforts to keep a virus that's deadly to many kinds of fish out of Lake Superior. The disease, known as VHS, has quickly spread through the other Great Lakes. Minnesota officials say if it reaches Lake Superior, VHS could jump to inland waters and devastate the state's fishing industry.
May 6, 2008 - The cabin in wilderness writer Sigurd Olson's "Listening Point" has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. Olson wrote nine books, including "The Singing Wilderness" and "Listening Point," named after a spot on an island in Burntside Lake. The cabin is maintained by the Listening Point Foundation. Executive Director Alanna (ah-LAH-nuh) Johnson says Olson worked for wilderness preservation on a national level, but he lived for many years in Ely.
May 12, 2008 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports that Lake Superior's low water in 2007’ revealed something disturbing…gaping rusted holes in much of the underwater steel in the Duluth-Superior harbor. The aggressive corrosion, discovered just a couple of years ago, has caused extensive damage below the water line. The cause is still a mystery, but studies have begun to identify some leading suspects.
May 29, 2008 - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar says the nation isn't ready for a lower highway speed limit. Klobuchar met with Minnesota truckers to talk about high diesel prices. Diesel fuel is 70-percent higher than it was a year ago, and truckers say it's adding to the cost of practically everything. The Minnesota Trucking Association is calling for a national speed limit of 65-miles-per-hour. Senator Klobuchar told the truckers she hopes individuals will choose to reduce their speed to save gas and money, but Congress won't require it.
July 8, 2008 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill looks into a Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources Minnesota report, which states a need to work smarter, and invest more, to protect the environment. The LCCMR invests about 23-million dollars a year from lottery proceeds for environmental projects. Segment includes various interviews of LCCMR group members.
July 30, 2008 - Midday remembers Harrison Bud Tordoff, who died last week, with a special rebroadcast from MPR's "Voices of Minnesota" series. Tordoff was known as the man who saved the peregrine falcons in Minnesota. Before becoming an acclaimed ornithologist, Harrison Tordoff was a decorated fighter pilot during World War II. Also part of this series is an interview with Minnesota nature photographer Jim Brandenburg.
August 27, 2008 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill visits Xcel Energy's nuclear power booth to find out what Minnesotans think about nuclear power as an energy option.