February 11, 1998 - The U.S. Forest Service is still on standby near the Little Alfie logging site, as preparations continue to cut some 6000 old red pine. Protesters failed once again to get a legal hold placed on the cutting when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to issue an injunction this morning. While protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis , they did not appear at the Little Alfie Site in the Superior National Forest. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure has been covering the developments in Orr, and joins us now.
February 10, 1998 - A logger in northern Minnesota is preparing to cut a tract of century-old red pines known as "Little Alfie" in Superior National Forest. Environmental advocates lost a series of court challenges to prevent logging of as many as 6-thousand trees on a one hundred acre site. As of 4pm today, the logging can begin. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure is at the logging site and joins me on the line.
February 5, 1998 - One former and one current employee of the Koch refinery in Rosemount charge the company continues to pollute soil and groundwater, despite public declarations it is fixing its environmental problems. The two men have filed suit against the company, saying it retaliated against them after they reported environmental violations to the state. The refinery is now under investigation by state officials. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
February 4, 1998 - One former and one current employee of the Koch refinery in Rosemount filed suit against the company today, saying it retaliated against them after they reported environmental violations to the state. The refinery is now under investigation by state officials. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
February 4, 1998 - A federal judge has ruled logging can go ahead on the hundred-year-old pines stand known as the "Little Alfie" in the Superior National Forest. The decision is a setback for defenders of the state's few remaining stands of old growth timber, but they say they'll fight the same battle over again in other places. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
February 2, 1998 - Opponents of so-called "factory farms" rallied at the state capital, calling for a two year moratorium on the expansion of large feedlots. They say new, concentrated livestock operations are polluting Minnesota's air and water, and squeezing out family-sized livestock farms. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. Wearing "Stop Factory Farms" buttons and carrying signs with slogans like) "land of ten thousand hog lagoons" signs, the crowd of 150 voiced its support for the feedlot moratorium. Monica Cahout farms in Renville County, where some of t
January 30, 1998 - An insecticide known as methoprene is one of the prime chemical suspects in the search for a cause for the deformed frogs reported in Minnesota and other states. Methoprene has been under suspicion because of its similarities to a compound which produces deformities in laboratory animals. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District has used methoprene for years to control mosquitos in twin cities wetlands. The agency insists there's no link between methoprene and frog deformities, but others are not so sure. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure has more.
January 26, 1998 - Long time critics of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District are taking another swipe at the agency. The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations are pushing a bill that would require the Mosquito Control District to notify individual property owners before spraying. The agency, one of the largest mosquito control programs in the nation, sprays some 120 thousand acres annually for adult mosquitoes. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
January 8, 1998 - A nationwide survey of wildlife refuges shows a low rate of frog deformities. It's an indication that most deformed frogs may be confined to isolated "hot spots" like Minnesota ----not part of a widespread problem.
September 30, 1997 - Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have found the first direct evidence of a link between contaminated water and the outbreaks of deformed frogs first reported in Minnesota in 1995. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.