August 23, 2013 - On this episode State Fair U, Morning Edition Producer Jim Bickal visits the Agriculture Horticulture Building to get a lesson in beehive hierarchy from from long-time beekeeper Warren Schave.
September 30, 2013 - MPR’s Elizabeth Dunbar reports about the rise of water demands and potential options in the metro area. Water conservation/restrictions, utilizing St. Paul water for other cities, and pumping water from the Mississippi River are among the ideas and efforts being discussed.
November 20, 2013 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports that after more than a decade of falling water levels, Lake Superior is on the upswing. For 14 years, water levels in Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, remained below their long-term average, the longest stretch of below-average levels in recorded history. The big lake reached its all-time low in 2007.
January 6, 2014 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on wild rice, the iconic grain that grows across much of the northern half of the state, being at the center of a contentious debate over mining and the environment. Kraker conducts interviews with individuals from both sides of the debate.
February 9, 2014 - The frigid winter has transformed the caves along the south shore of Lake Superior into a glittering icy playground. MPR’s Dan Kraker visits the Apostle Island Sea Caves, which have been overwhelmed by visitors as ice has been thick enough for hikers to safely reach the caves. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Park officials have needed help to handle crowds.
April 28, 2014 - As part of MPR’s Beneath the Surface project, reporter Elizabeth Dunbar looks at the management of pumping groundwater in fighting pollution, including remediation sites in the Twin Cities metro.
September 25, 2014 - On this episode of MPR’s Minnesota Sound and Voices, Dan Olson profiles the wildlife management of bison in Blue Mounds State Park and raising them for meat on a nearby ranch.
November 24, 2014 - MPR’s Curtis Gilbert reports on the cost and hassle of mattress disposal in Minneapolis, and how the city is looking for ways to best deal with recycling and costs.
November 13, 2015 - MPR’s Tom Weber presents a rebroadcast of a documentary from 2014 MPR Special reporting project on climate change. It collects stories on extreme weather, warming trends, species adaptation, jet and streams.
December 2, 2015 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on the decline of lake herring, called cisco in Lake Superior. The fish typically aggregate in thick schools in the late fall when they swim to shore to spawn. But overfishing in parts of Superior regulated by Wisconsin, and a decline in fish survival, have caused cisco numbers on the Minnesota side of the lake to plummet, putting the lake's small but iconic commercial fishery in jeopardy.