Commissioner in Red Wing to highlight climate impacts on intrastructure
Today, Commissioner Kessler will join elected officials and businesses in Red Wing to highlight the impact of heavier rainfalls, caused by climate change, on local infrastructure. The MPCA and Walz/Flanagan administration are proposing new legislation that would establish a new $21.1 million stormwater construction grant program. These upgrades will help mitigate flood damage and adapt communities for increasing severe rain events.
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Return to office updates
There are just two weeks to our return-to-office date, April 21. It will be exciting to see more staff in all of our offices in the coming weeks. Check for updates on the Lorax. Here are some helpful reminders that have been added for this week:
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“New” employee event on April 26: We are hosting a special event for staff who began their tenure with the agency since January 2020. It will be held in St. Paul. New staff from all agency offices have received a “save the date” invitation for this event. Staff will have an opportunity to take a tour, and connect with agency leadership and other agency staff.
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Health screening and testing will continue: The daily health screening will continue for those that work in the lab, office, or field. However, it isn’t required on days that you telework. Staff working in the lab, office, or field who have not attested to and provided proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will be required to be tested weekly.
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Returning equipment and files to the office: Make sure to return all agency equipment and files when you start your hybrid schedule. Please reach out to Tracy Ferrero if you have questions about how to manage the records you are returning to the office. For staff in a regional office, talk with your regional manager for any changes in records management.
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Paul cafeteria status, DNR gift shop, and vending machines: For those who work in or visit the St. Paul office, food service in the cafeteria will not be available. The DNR gift shop is open, but may have limited inventory. To start, the third floor vending machine in the St. Paul office will be stocked.
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Parking, fitness room, metro pass, indoor bike storage, and security badges: Now is the perfect time to get your parking set up, join the fitness room, buy your metro pass, sign up for indoor bike storage, and find your security badge.
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Conference rooms refreshers: If you haven’t used the conference rooms in regional offices or St. Paul in a while, get detailed guidance on the return to office web page.
If you have questions about returning to the office or COVID-19, you are encouraged to use the COVID-19 email box.
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Volunteer water monitoring applications see lift from Nextdoor!
The MPCA continues to expand its reach and achieve enhanced results on social media channels. Since expanding Nextdoor to the entire seven-county metro area, the MPCA used the hyperlocal social network to promote the Volunteer Water Monitoring Program, which resulted in an increase in applications.
If your program has questions about sharing information on Nextdoor, please contact your division or program communications lead.
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New MPCA website open house
Join us for a short presentation about the website redesign project followed by a sneak peek of the in-progress site. We’ll show you the new designs, explain our strategy for content and navigation, and we’ll leave time at the end for questions. All MPCA employees are invited. We will hold the same session at two different times to accommodate various schedules. Watch for an email with a meeting link. A meeting link will also be added to the Lorax.
- Tuesday, April 12, 2022: 9-10 a.m.
- Thursday, April 21, 2022: 2-3 p.m.
These meetings are optional.
Severe Weather Awareness Week: April 4-8
In Minnesota, tornadoes have occurred in every month from March through November. The earliest reported tornadoes in Minnesota were the three tornadoes that touched down on March 6, 2017. The latest reported tornadoes in Minnesota were just last year on December 15, 2021. Find out what to do at home, at your apartment, etc. during a tornado.
And a reminder, Minnesota’s Statewide Tornado Drill Day will occur today April 7, with tornado period drills at 1:45 p.m. and again at 6:45 p.m.
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Composting, gardening forge a connection with environment
The month of April — Earth Month — is one of my favorites. I’m an avid gardener and cook, so planting my spring garden is a joy. For years, I supported local farmers and purchased food grown close to home. A few years ago, I went one step further, incorporating vegetables and herbs into my flower garden for an edible adventure. You can’t get closer to home than harvesting your dinner from your own garden.
Earth Month is about making sustainable choices. One way my family does that is through composting. We have a “three-bin system” — one bin for finished compost, one that we’re actively using, and a third that is making its way to finished compost. Each autumn, it’s gratifying to use the compost in our gardens knowing we have kept this material out of the landfill and seeing the bees and butterflies visit the fruit for food. It’s so easy and rewarding.
Growing our own food and composting what we don’t eat to nourish other critters and enrich the soil has helped me appreciate how my choices can positively impact the world around me.
— Dana Vanderbosch
Have a photo of yourself taking part in an Earth Month activity? Send it to Kevin Gaffney for inclusion on the Lorax.
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Equity Experience events
Equity Experience events offer a variety of ways to “experience” equity, so we can hold ourselves accountable to learning, growing, and engaging with this important work and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In order to receive an IDEA credit for attending an Equity Experience event, you will be required to report what you learned, thought, experienced, etc. to your team, so that there will be accountability and shared learning. Please note that employees have until June 30 to complete your IDEA credits for FY 2022. Check out the event list on the Lorax.
Water issues seminar: Feedlots and water Quality
Thursday, April 14, 9-10 a.m.
Agricultural animal feedlots are frequently a concern due to their potential to contaminate nearby surface water. Michelle Oie, George Schwint, Brent Riess, and Mark Gernes from the feedlots program will give an overview of the delegated feedlot program, how it works, and discuss the program’s compliance and enforcement strategies and how the agency issues feedlot permits.
Join Webex meeting.
Tuesday, April 19, 2-3 p.m.
Has two years away from your traditional office location left you feeling out of touch with your coworkers? Are you new to the agency and haven’t had the opportunity to meet co-workers outside of your unit? Would you like to build your connections within the agency through friendly informal conversation? Join the Leadership Forum and many of your coworkers for a great opportunity to connect or reconnect! You will have the opportunity to meet and briefly converse with coworkers from all across the agency. Questions? Contact Kari Cantarero.
Join Teams meeting.
Webinar: Chemical pollution has crossed the planetary boundary safe for humanity: Now what?
Thursday, April 21, 1 p.m.
In January 2022, a team of international scientists released a first-of-its-kind study revealing that chemical pollution has now crossed the planetary boundary safe for humanity, while projections show that chemical pollution will double and possibly triple in the coming decades. Find out more and to register.
Environmental justice a factor in choosing electric bus routes
Transit on Penn Avenue in North Minneapolis became less polluting when Metro Transit opened the C Line one hot, sunny day in 2019. That’s because some of the buses running on the route are electric buses. Transportation, from trucks to personal vehicles to buses, emit the greatest amount of pollution in the state, according to a 2018 report from the MPCA. — MN Spokesman-Recorder
Heartland seeking permit for 9,600-head swine feedlot
The Heartland Hutterian Brethren are seeking a permit from the MPCA to build a 9,600-head swine finishing feedlot in the northeast quarter of Section 3 of Fountain Prairie Township. According to the MPCA, the feedlot will consist of two total confinement barns. Liquid manure generated by the animals will be stored within concrete-lined storage structures and then be applied to surrounding cropland at agronomic rates and transferred to neighboring farms. — Pipestone County Star
Note: You can view additional news coverage on the Lorax's News clips page.
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2022 recruitment season starts with a new, inclusive name for the Volunteer Water Monitoring Program. Learn more and become a volunteer today! https://mnpca.info/3LOabDk
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