Crookston Times | September 06, 2017
A “25BY25” Community Water Meeting with Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton was held in Bede Ballroom at the University of Minnesota Crookston Tuesday evening following the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Town Hall.
The purpose of the meetings is to give Governor Dayton’s feedback on Minnesota’s 25 percent by 2025 Water Quality Improvement Goal. His proposal would not add new regulations, but would instead drive public engagement and partnerships to address Minnesota’s water quality challenges. Crookston was chosen as one of 11 meeting locations from July through October.
The large audience heard from Crookston Mayor Wayne Melbye, Governor Dayton, District Manager for the West Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District Nicole Bernd, Moorhead MPS Water Division manager Kristofer Knutson, and Wilkin County farmer Jerry Nordic about their efforts and ideas how the region and state can improve water quality.
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Sleepy Eye Dispatch | September 04, 2017
Governor Mark Dayton is traveling the state this late summer and fall to hold a series of 10 water quality town hall meetings to discuss and share ideas on his initiative to improve water quality in the state by 25 percent by 2025. His second meeting was at Minnesota State University, Mankato on Aug. 16.
Calling water quality a crucial issue that Minnesota has to face up to, Gov. Dayton said that south central Minnesota is a microcosm of the issues involved. “You have land use in rural areas heavily dependent on agriculture—a mainstay of the economy in the region; you have urban areas like Mankato and St. Peter and smaller communities that are dealing with their challenges of water quality.”
“In Minnesota, we’re the land of sky blue waters,” added Dayton. “You know, I used to assume throughout most of my career, that clean water was just a God-given gift that we were sure of into perpetuity. Well, it is a God-given gift, but it’s nothing we’re assured of unless we act to assure ourselves and to assure our children, our grandchildren and generations to follow them, that we’ve taken responsible measures, all of us together—this is not about blaming any one sector or anyone else, this is about all of us together—figuring out what we can do to merge the different economic interests that are very much affected, whether it is cost of production or cost of providing clean water through water treatment facilities. Everybody is dealing with economic realities in challenging economic times.”
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MPR | September 05, 2017
Key state leaders on Tuesday rose to the defense of more than 6,000 immigrants in Minnesota who stand to lose their protection from deportation.
President Trump's administration on Tuesday said it would wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which allows people brought illegally to the U.S. as children to stay in the country, work and get other benefits.
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton was among those critical of the president's decision, saying it will directly hurt thousands of Minnesotans.
"Here in Minnesota we have a shortage of skilled workers. So we're going to take some 6,200 that are here under DACA and send them away?" Dayton said. "It's lunacy!"
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Sun Sailor | September 05, 2017
Students and parents arriving for the first day of school at Meadow Lake Elementary in New Hope were pleasantly surprised when Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith were waiting for them at the front doors.
Joining the Governor and Lt. Governor were Robbinsdale Area Schools Superintendent Carlton Jenkins, the Robbinsdale Area School Board, and New Hope Mayor Kathi Hemken. Principal Jane Byrne and Assistant Principal Gaeli Iverson welcomed their students back to the fresh school year.
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Smithsonian Magazine | September 05, 2017
Last year, when Minnesota passed a groundbreaking law on best practices for providing pollinator habitat at solar power sites, they also (unexpectedly) helped launch something called Solar Honey, in which solar companies and commercial beekeepers work together in a mutually beneficial arrangement.
On May 31, 2016, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed the Pollinator Friendly Solar Act into law, a first of its kind legislation that lays out voluntary standards for managing native habitat—think prairie grass and wild flowers—for pollinators, songbirds, and other beneficial critters. Solar developers and local governments can use these guidelines, which give recommendations on things like what seed mixes to use, the best options for laying out the plants, and how to maintain the site, in order to help provide these beneficial creatures with the a comfortable home.
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