Happening

Our field staff worked with select cities to secure their support for Clean Cars Minnesota, a set of vehicle emission standards designed to help clean up our air and bring more electric vehicles to Minnesota.

The story of one community's path to landmark legislation. Conservation Minnesota hosted a conversation with several board members from the White Bear Area Neighborhood Concerned Citizens Group (NCCG) about how a community can unite around a public health issue to impact state-wide legislation. With Conservation Minnesota, the NCCG played a crucial role in advocating for and pushing this policy across the finish line, and they brought together many stakeholders to find answers and make significant change beyond their own community. 

Local community action matters. This year’s legislative ban on Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a perfect example. Early in 2019, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) discovered that for many years a manufacturer in White Bear Township released TCE into the air at unsafe levels. Community members were outraged and began to organize, working to ban the chemical through legislative action. 

Minnesotans love our Great Outdoors, and we are willing to do what it takes to improve our favorite parks and open spaces. Dakota County is no exception. It is home to some of our most iconic examples of natural beauty here in our state—places like Lebanon Hills Regional Park, the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, Sand Coulee, and Whitetail Woods. As demand grows in Dakota County for more access to nature and parks, now is the time to start thinking about the future.

For the past three years, Conservation Minnesota has worked with partner groups to put on an annual Environmental Commissions Conference every April. There is a great deal of overlap in these sorts of issues from city to city, and also the potential for cities to coordinate, so commissioners and other interested folks get together once a year to share ideas, think about how to work together, and get to know each other.

On December 17th, 2019 Rosemount Mayor Bill Droste and City Council Members in attendance enthusiastically voted to turn the task force into an official city commission.

On Thursday, January 22nd I went to a hearing of the Minnesota Senate’s Energy & Utilities Finance & Policy Committee held at Mound Westonka High School in Minnetrista.

Last week, the Minnesota Senate Energy & Utilities Committee was in Rochester for a public hearing on the Senate Republicans’ Clean Energy First legislation.

Over the past ten years, Minnesota’s cities have been increasing their sustainability goals and positively impacting their communities. I’m lucky to work with a few East Metro cities that are working toward achieving step 5—the top step!—in the GreenStep program.

On Saturday, November 16th about 35 people gathered to hear Representative Shelly Christensen (DFL-39B) speak at an environmental issue-based town hall.