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Getting to Green: Minnesota’s energy future

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Snowy owl rescued from car grille by Minnesota woman who saved another bird hours earlier
A great gray owl and a snowy owl are being treated by experts after being rescued by a northern Minnesota woman. Annabell Whelan says she found the first owl on Monday morning and brought him to a wildlife rehabilitation center, which sent him to a raptor rescue.
In a year of tough news, these are some of the stories that made us smile in 2024
Whether we were paying attention or not, 2024 was filled with good news. In case you weren't, NPR's member stations have been keeping track. Here are some of the stories that made us smile this year.
As costs rise, number of Minnesotans losing heat, electricity spikes
The Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, a nonprofit that advocates for utility customers, tracks reported shutoffs. It found utilities disconnected more than 85,000 residential households from either gas or electric services from January through October.
Twenty years after first proposed, NewRange still vying to build Minnesota’s first copper mine
Nearly 20 years after it was first proposed to state and federal regulators, the project formerly known as PolyMet Mining — now NewRange Copper Nickel — soldiers on, despite environmental groups’ contention that the project in its current form is dead.
Minnesota hastens to regulate helium mining after deposit discovery near Babbitt
Minnesota is scrambling to figure out how to regulate a potential new industry — one discovered by accident — that is both extremely valuable and in demand.
Biden set an ambitious new climate goal. Will it still matter under Trump?
The Biden administration set a new climate goal for the U.S. The White House argues states, cities and corporations will continue the work, even as Trump plans to exit the Paris climate agreement.
Global warming can’t be ignored, Montana’s top court says, upholding landmark climate case
Montana’s Supreme Court has upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming.