Climate change, industry, parks, air and water quality are issues that are debated in congress, compete for funding and enpassion many Minnesotans.
November 14, 2003 - Minnesota is one of several states in a Midwestern belt that experiences a weather phenomenon called "thundersnow" -- when lightning flares and thunder rumbles in the midst of a snowstorm. Meteorologists really don't know a lot about thundersnow, and that's why a University of Missouri researcher has just been awarded a half-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to find out more. Patrick Market has been studying thundersnow for the past four years. He says thunderclouds that form in the winter are much different from those we see in the summer.
November 14, 2003 - An 800-million dollar loan package earmarked for an electrical power plant on Minnesota's Iron Range has survived in the Federal Energy Bill. The loan package is one provision in a 17-hundred page bill that's expected to go before the U-S House and Senate next week. The bill also includes support for the region's ethanol industry. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports
November 14, 2003 - Some people in northern Minnesota are frustrated over a new law regulating all-terrain vehicles. The law says it's illegal to ride an ATV on certain types of wetlands. But in Koochiching County on the Canadian border, most of the land -- more than a million acres -- is wet. County officials say the law needs to be changed. As Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports, some lawmakers agree...
November 19, 2003 - Columbia Heights is trying to figure out what to do about the approximately 45 deer that have made themselves at home in the Twin Cities suburb. The herd resides on a 76-acre enclosed area owned by the Minneapolis Water Works. The land houses one of the state's largest water treatment plants and doesn't provide enough space or food for the dozens of deer that occupy it. Yesterday a task force recommended that the deer population be reduced by bow hunters. City Manager Walt Fehst says it's not uncommon to hear about deer popping up in the metro area. But he says the situation in Columbia Heights is unique.
November 21, 2003 - Minnesotans throughout the state are bracing for the first major snowstorm of the season. And like any major storm, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is urging motorists to use extreme caution when traveling. But a news release issued by MnDOT today also says travelers may notice fewer snow plows on the roads due to reduced overtime costs and staffing changes. The news releases were sent by district engineers in several rural parts of the state. House and Senate DFLers say the changes are a result of budget cuts, another example, they say of how the state's budget cuts are affecting Minnesotans. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports..
November 21, 2003 - The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on the federal energy bill. The bill would provide money to help build a new power plant in northern Minnesota. The plant would convert coal into gas to make electricity. Burning gas is much cleaner than burning coal. But critics say the Iron Range isn't the best place to use the technology. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
November 24, 2003 - A stalled federal energy bill is causing major headaches for Minnesota's wind energy industry. The legislation extends a tax credit for wind production. Without the credit some wind projects in the state could be in jeopardy. If the energy bill fails to pass, it could also affect ethanol production and a planned Iron Range power plant. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.
November 25, 2003 - Polar explorer Will Steger is preparing a quest across Northern Canada - a six month sled dog adventure that will bring the arctic into thousands of classrooms. Steger hasn't led a sled dog journey in five years, but says he came out of retirement concerned about global warming. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Kelleher reports:
November 26, 2003 - Minnesota DNR conservation officers are investigating a possible suspect in a tree top caper, that's devestated a state-owned black spruce plantation. Officials say the tops of ten to twenty thousand spruce trees were lopped-off recently, in a remote area north of Nashwauk on the Iron Range. It's thought the tree tops are on their way to other cities where they will be sold as small Christmas trees. Brian Buria is with the DNR's Bigfork office. He says a commercial first tippped him off to the theft.
November 26, 2003 - The last downtown movie theater in Duluth closed last month. But locals are trying to re-open it. A national historic preservation group is helping. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {