 MPR | December 6, 2018
The forecast shows the state finishing the current biennium at the end of June with money on the bottom line and healthy reserves. State law requires one-third of any excess dollars anticipated by June of next year to flow automatically into the reserves, which now exceed $2 billion.
Budget Commissioner Myron Frans on Thursday highlighted the reserves, which are at an all-time high.
"When I started with the Dayton administration in the immediate aftermath of the great recession, there was no reserve. We had a $6 billion deficit and budget gimmicks had borrowed from students to pay our bills," he said. "It is impossible to invest in the future or take care of those suffering the most from an economic downturn when you have no money and have a huge deficit."
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Pioneer Press | December 5, 2018
Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, which serves 3.6 million electricity customers in eight states, says it will try to eliminate all its carbon emissions from electrical generation by 2050. It’s the first major U.S. utility owner to pledge to fully phase out carbon-dioxide emissions that cause global warming.
Xcel CEO Ben Fowke acknowledged that not all the technologies the company needs to meet that goal are available yet on a commercial scale, but he said he is encouraged by advances in clean energy technology.
“If we put our minds to it,” Fowke said, “we will find the best solution to get us there.”
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IRRR: The Ranger | December 5, 2018
Iron Range native and restaurateur Jessica Lietz received her first Business Energy Retrofit (BER) grant in 2013 at the age of 26 when she bought and re-opened The Whistling Bird on main street Gilbert, located two blocks away from her home at the time. The restaurant originally opened in the 1990’s and was an Iron Range favorite for many years until it closed in 2007. Lietz recognized the potential for quality dining options in the region, and the BER grant enabled her to re-open the restaurant with reduced start-up costs by replacing an aging inefficient electric furnace.
“I was able to allocate my financial resources into starting and growing the business as opposed to sinking money into replacing old equipment or paying exorbitant utility rates for an inefficient heating system,” said Lietz.
Lietz built upon her success in Gilbert and opened two more restaurants, Boomtown Woodfire in Eveleth in 2015 and Boomtown Brewery in Hibbing in 2017. Like the Whistling Bird, both buildings were restaurants that had closed under previous ownership. She received a BER grant for each location that replaced outdated inefficient walk-in freezers and coolers.
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Farm Forum | December 4, 2018
Minnesota farmers and landowners have implemented conservation measures on hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland since 2014. Recently compiled statistics show the impact the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) has had on the state’s water quality protection efforts.
The MAWQCP was initiated through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in January 2012, by Governor Mark Dayton, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Since the build-out of the program in 2014, the Ag Water Quality Certification Program has:
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Enrolled nearly 450,000 acres.
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Included 680 producers.
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Added more than 1,300 new conservation practices.
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Kept over 48.1 million pounds of sediment out of Minnesota rivers.
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Saved 122 million pounds of soil and 28,291 pounds of phosphorous on farms.
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Reduced nitrogen losses by up to 49 percent.
“This is excellent news. I want to thank the 680 Minnesota farmers and landowners who have voluntarily committed to improving the quality of water that all Minnesotans drink,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “I also thank Commissioner Dave Frederickson, and the many talented professionals at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, for their outstanding leadership on this initiative. This program’s positive impacts will endure far beyond this current Administration, and significantly improve our state’s water quality for generations to come.”
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Energy News | December 3, 2018
A growing demand for clean energy employees led the Minnesota Department of Corrections earlier this year to offer a solar installation course to two classes of inmates prior to their release dates.
Held last spring and summer, 30 men took the 48-hour solar installer training course from instructors working with the Wisconsin-based Midwest Renewable Energy Association. The nonprofit used the same course it offers members of the general public.
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Star Tribune | December 3, 2018
Alzheimer’s disease will become eligible for treatment with medical marijuana in Minnesota next year, making it the 14th health condition approved since the state’s cannabis program began in 2015.
The Minnesota Department of Health announced Monday that it was adding the degenerative neurological disorder to the program, despite limited evidence on the effectiveness of treatment with cannabis. Some studies have found that marijuana inhibits the formation of tau proteins that accelerate dementia and memory loss related to the disease.
“Any policy decisions about cannabis are difficult due to the relative lack of published scientific evidence,” said state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “However, there is some evidence for potential benefits of medical cannabis to improve the mood, sleep and behavior of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”
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