Legislative Update – May 2023
Water policy flowing as legislative session nears conclusion The Minnesota Legislature is entering the home stretch before it is scheduled to adjourn on May 22, with a wide range of … Read more
Water
Freshwater collaborator and supporter shares her story
Beth Carreño has a personal and professional connection to clean water Beth Carreño joined the Freshwater community in 2016 and has been a valued collaborator, member and donor ever since. … Read more
Groundwater governance tested at Vermillion River headwaters
Niagara Bottling proposes groundwater-fed bottling plant in Elko New Market The debate over groundwater protection is playing out in Scott County, Minnesota, as California-based Niagara Bottling seeks to build a … Read more
Bolger & Freshwater – a Lasting Partnership
By Julia Weimer Freshwater has found a long-standing friendship in a Minneapolis print and digital technology company by the name of Bolger Vision Beyond Print. Bolger has been a generous … Read more
Meet IREX Fellow Eddy Andrango
By Julia Weimer Edison (Eddy) Andrango belongs to the Kichwa Otavalo Indigenous group in the north of Ecuador, located in the Andes mountains, two hours north of the capital, Quito. … Read more
Meet Research and Policy intern Bri Jol
Bri Jol joined Freshwater’s research and policy team in February 2022 with expertise in biology, environmental studies, geographic information systems, communications, organizing, and fire-fighting! Oh my! Throughout her time with Freshwater, … Read more
Extra innings?
The legislative session has gone into extra innings more often than not recently. Is this the new norm? This time the game was called with bases loaded and only a couple of runs on the scoreboard. Runners left on base and the pitcher were playing chicken when the lights went off.
Meet a longtime Adopt a River participant: the Green Team
While Adopt a River is a new program for Freshwater, it’s been around and making an impact for 33 years! More than 90,000 volunteers have organized 32,000 cleanups and removed a whopping 6,500,000 pounds of trash from the land and water.
Jen Kader’s changing hats
This year is ushering a number of changes for Jen Kader. Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, she started in a new role at Freshwater as our director for engagement and systems change. Later that same month, her peers on the state’s Clean Water Council—all of whom are appointed by the governor to serve on the council—unanimously elected her council vice chair.
Protecting and restoring fresh water requires all of us
Freshwater recently renewed our organizational commitment to embrace our mission—to empower people to value and conserve fresh water—by thoughtfully considering the details and meaning of “people.” Whom do we mean when we say empowering people? Our board and staff realize, of course, that our mission is for all people, knowing that individually and collectively, all people need to share in protecting and conserving water.