George Floyd was murdered. It’s an outrage and an injustice. But we need to do more than just make this declaration. He was murdered by the staff of a Minnesota city. By police that were hired, trained and retained under the laws of our land, empowered with our collective tax dollars. And this isn’t the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Loon Commons blog
Legislative session ends, but lawmakers’ work isn’t over
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership May 18 marked the final day of the Minnesota’s 2020 Legislative Session, but the third Monday of the month marked more of a pause than a conclusion to the Legislature’s work for the year – a comma, not a period. The Legislature plans to pick up its work where… Read more »
Minnesota Senate stonewalling may leave Environmental Trust Fund money on the table
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Tuesday, we received troubling news about Minnesota’s work to restore and protect our natural spaces. State Representative Rick Hansen, chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division, posted a letter from his Senate counterpart, Bill Ingebrigtsen, in which Senator Ingebrigtsen said that the Senate does not… Read more »
Upgrading Minnesota water systems: Vital to our health, a boost to our economy
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership The Minnesota Legislature has been working aggressively over the past few weeks to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and its harsh impacts on our state’s communities. Throughout the rest of the spring (or summer, if a special session is called), they will have to contend with tough questions about… Read more »
MEP, allies call on Walz to pause major permitting, protect environmental safeguards
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Thursday, April 2, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership and more than two dozen allied organizations sent a letter to the Walz Administration and Attorney General Keith Ellison, asking that they continue to protect Minnesotans’ environmental health and safety during the COVID-19 crisis. Our request was twofold: that the Walz… Read more »
PolyMet appeal headed to Supreme Court, company on the defensive on permits
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Two major developments on PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel sulfide mine in northern Minnesota were announced this week. On Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) air permits for the PolyMet mine. The Court found that in its permit, the MPCA hadn’t adequately considered the… Read more »
Line 3 comment period extended, moved to conference calls
Online comments open through April 10 By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Earlier this week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced that in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, it would extend the online comment period on its permits for the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline by one week and shift from holding in-person… Read more »
Twin Cities lower residential speed limits, improving community safety
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Last week, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul announced a major policy change to increase safety for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists in both cities: the vast majority of road miles within the two cities will have speed limits decreased from 30 mph to 20 mph, while arterial street speeds will be pegged… Read more »
Climate Action Caucus unveils exciting project proposals
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Monday, the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus unveiled “Minnesota Can-Do Climate Actions,” a package of bills to invest $191.5 million from the projected state budget surplus in one-time spending into Minnesota communities for clean energy, clean transportation, and conservation efforts. Last week, we wrote about how Minnesota can… Read more »
How the Legislature can bond for climate this session
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Last week, we offered a brief preview of the Legislature’s work in the 2020 session, which began on Tuesday. One of the crucial aspects of this session is its traditional status as a bonding year. Bonding allows the state to borrow money to finance capital projects – mostly including new infrastructure… Read more »