Blog
A Very Special Session
There were so many great environmental provisions to like in the House and Senate Omnibus Bills from the regular session. Unfortunately, they didn’t match, so nothing was passed. They … Read more
Not Your Parents’ Earth Day
Fifty years ago, the first Earth Day launched our modern age of concern for our common home, Mother Earth. Only years later, Duluth was the stage for one of the … Read more
COVID crashed economies; will our waters pay the price?
Gov. Walz recently announced his intention to coordinate the re-opening of our economy with those of neighboring states. This comes at the same time that the Upper Mississippi was declared … Read more
A Personal Phenology
My friend Judith was an Iowa farm girl and finds the subtle signs of spring inspiring and a call to action. When she purchased her house in 1990, she … Read more
Minnesota stands strong against water pollution
We’ve been hearing from members and friends who are concerned that COVID-19 is being used as a cover to relax environmental standards by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), based … Read more
A Minnesota Ghost Story
The town of Beaver in Winona County is a Minnesota ghost town. The Dust Bowl—the climate crisis of the decade—set the stage for the town’s demise. It was abandoned after … Read more
How We Treat Water
No one wants to talk about it. We’re often relying on decades to century-old technology. And we are just barely getting by. What am I referring to? Water and wastewater … Read more
Making headway*
My friend Todd, the barge pilot, says he’s been laid off for over six months. Freeze-up was late on Lake Pepin where he lives and the ice-off time was pretty … Read more
Innovation worth its salt (savings)
The Morton Salt Girl helped Mike Gresch crystalize (forgive the pun) some innovative ideas to save both money and impacts on the environment. That iconic image of her with salt … Read more
Can't you hear it, too?
I’ve been thinking about ways to bridge the communication gap between science and public policy. I recently attended the Water Pavilion in San Francisco. It was an affiliate event of … Read more