Jimmy Lovrien

Duluth EPA lab to remain open On Monday, some employees at the freshwater lab received reassignments to other offices within the agency and relocation was not required. But others have not, sparking fear of looming layoffs.

On Monday, some employees at the freshwater lab received reassignments to other offices within the agency and relocation was not required. But others have not, sparking fear of looming layoffs.

EPA places 6 Duluth lab staff on leave for signing dissent letter The union representing federal workers said the move violated the employees' free speech rights and vowed to take legal action.

The EPA placed several of its Duluth laboratory employees on leave for signing a letter criticizing the Trump administration’s politicization of the agency, a move the union and Democratic politicians said violates federal workers’ free speech.

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Stauber plans to vote for Trump megabill Over 10 years, the bill will increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion, cut Medicaid spending by $1 trillion and lead to 11.8 million more uninsured people, the Congressional Budget Office said.

Over 10 years, the bill will increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion, cut Medicaid spending by $1 trillion and lead to 11.8 million more uninsured people, the Congressional Budget Office said.

As wildfires cool, replanting begins with resilient forest future in mind Planted last spring but burned in last month's Camp House Fire, The Nature Conservancy returned to a plot of land along Murphy Lake to replant 5,000 tree saplings into the ash-covered ground.

Chris Dunham, The Nature Conservancy’s associate director of resilience forestry in Northeastern Minnesota, said a post-fire landscape provides “a restoration opportunity” amid climate change and biodiversity loss.

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200-acre wildfire burning near Brimson, prompting evacuations The sheriff's office said "a number of cabins, garages and other structures have been affected," but no injuries were reported as of late Sunday afternoon.

A wildfire is burning near Brimson in eastern St. Louis County, about 20 miles northwest of Two Harbors
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AmeriCorps cuts hit Northland Minnesota and Wisconsin attorneys general joined a lawsuit Tuesday calling the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency's moves against the service organization “unlawful.”

Last year, there were 14,500 AmeriCorps members in Minnesota and 8,400 in Wisconsin, but it is unclear how many in each state were affected by the $400 million in cuts on April 25. The cuts hit several Northland organizations that rely on AmeriCorps members

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Live election results: Minnesota Senate District 6 special election Republican Keri Heintzeman and DFLer Denise Slipy face off for the seat vacated by Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, who resigned and was charged with attempting to solicit a minor.

Republican Keri Heintzeman and DFLer Denise Slipy face off for the seat vacated by Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, who resigned and was charged with attempting to solicit a minor.

And now, a note on Bill Owens who, until this past week, was the executive producer of 60 Minutes.

We’ll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes.

Trump administration's fees on Chinese-built ships appear to spare Great Lakes vessels The new proposal explicitly exempts lakers. The oceangoing vessels that travel on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes are generally too small to trigger the fees.

The fees would have had a significant effect on shipping in the Port of Duluth-Superior, as two-thirds of the port calls made by oceangoing cargo ships — salties — last year were made by ships built in China. Additionally, Canada has 17 lakers built in China, some of which regularly stop here.

Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center to face peak season with skeleton crew President Trump's federal hiring freeze is costing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility one of its few rangers. The Corps acknowledges the popular attraction's operating hours may be affected.

As the federal government shrinks to “essential functions,” @kayleefabulous.bsky.social is about to lose her job as a park ranger supporting public safety and maritime education.

Proposed NOAA cuts put Great Lakes research, safety at risk, experts say A White House budget proposal would slash funding for Minnesota and Wisconsin Sea Grants, Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, Great Lakes Observing System and others.

Sea Grant programs, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and Coastal Zone Management Grants would not be not funded under the White House's passback budget. All of those conduct work in Lake Superior, along its north and south shores, and in the estuary.

Time for @racketmn.com to put one up with @jayboller.bsky.social on it

I have another question about the map.

The order to boost logging on national forest land included a map that made no distinction between wilderness areas, where logging is banned, and non-wilderness

The USDA later clarified that it would reduce the BWCAW's high-risk wildfire areas with prescribed burns and other methods, not logging

From 1990 to 2020, Minnesota and Wisconsin saw the WUI area grow 31.4% and 41%, respectively. Similarly, the number of homes in WUIs jumped 31% in Minnesota and 33.6% in Wisconsin over those 30 years.

Most counties in NE MN and NW WI saw those figures jump by double-digit percentages over 30 years.

Northland housing expands into wildfire-risk areas From 1990-2020, most counties in the region saw a double-digit percentage increase in home units where vegetation and development mingle, increasing the risk of property damage.

The number of homes in the wildland-urban interface, or WUI — where development and vegetation meet and where wildfires present an increased risk to people and property — is growing throughout the Northland.

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no way! I live in duluth! Small world.

As Northland events mount in response to Trump's cuts, attendees ask: Where’s Stauber? U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Hermantown, who has supported President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's cuts, said he would stick to telephone town halls.

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Hermantown, who has supported President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's cuts, said he would stick to telephone town halls.

Shipping, port officials say fees on Chinese-built ships would cost jobs While they support bolstering the U.S. shipbuilding industry, officials warned millions of dollars in fees each time a Chinese-built ship stops at a U.S. port would threaten Great Lakes shipping.

While they support bolstering the U.S. shipbuilding industry, officials warned millions of dollars in fees each time a Chinese-built ship stops at a U.S. port would threaten Great Lakes shipping.

Duluth EPA lab’s future uncertain under plan to cut research arm At virtual meetings Tuesday, employees were told to focus on wrapping up current projects and to download personnel files from their work computers, two people who attended the meetings said.

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Hundreds rally in support of Duluth EPA lab A reduction in force plan submitted by the EPA reportedly calls for shuttering the agency's science and research arm.

Protesters urged the federal government to keep the facility open and offered support for its nearly 150 employees whose future was thrown into uncertainty last week when reports surfaced that the agency would cut its science and research arm.

Letter carriers, Duluthians rally against postal service cuts, privatization Trump has entertained the privatization of the USPS, while Postmaster General DeJoy has signed an agreement with Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency to find "efficiencies."

Trump has entertained the privatization of the USPS, while Postmaster General DeJoy has signed an agreement with Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency to find "efficiencies."

Cliffs to idle Minorca mine and 'partially idle' HibTac, company says Cliffs said 630 employees will be laid off in 60 days. A state senator said Cliffs has excess pellets, and the auto industry, which uses Cliffs steel, faces "challenging economic conditions."

Cleveland-Cliffs said it would temporarily idle two of its Iron Range mines and pellet plants and lay off 630 workers.
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EPA to consider rolling back mercury limits on taconite plants Finalized a year ago, the limits would reduce the mining industry's mercury emissions by 33%. The industry releases half of the state's emissions and missed Minnesota's 2025 reduction target of 72%.

From last week: www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/e...

Duluth EPA lab’s future uncertain under plan to cut research arm At virtual meetings Tuesday, employees were told to focus on wrapping up current projects and to download personnel files from their work computers, two people who attended the meetings said.

The EPA has drafted plans to "eliminate" the Office of Research and Development and up to 75% of its staff.

The ORD includes the EPA's Duluth lab and its 136 employees. The lab develops scientific protocols used worldwide to measure how toxic chemicals affect the environment.

Minnesota’s taconite industry not on pace to meet state's mercury reduction targets by 2025 Plans submitted by mining companies show an industrywide reduction of 15% by 2025, far less than the 72% required by the state.

From 2021: (spoiler, they didn't make it by 2025)
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EPA to consider rolling back mercury limits on taconite plants Finalized a year ago, the limits would reduce the mining industry's mercury emissions by 33%. The industry releases half of the state's emissions and missed Minnesota's 2025 reduction target of 72%.

The mercury limits, finalized a year ago under the Biden administration but in the works for several decades, were included in a list of regulations targeted by the EPA as part of what it called "the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in the history of the United States."

Compared to Ontario, Manitoba has responded less aggressively to U.S. tariffs. Its financial minister instructed Manitoba Hydro to seek Cabinet approval before extending existing or entering into new power purchasing agreements with the U.S.

There's a decade left in MN Power's existing agreement.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator said on Wednesday, a day before many tariffs were delayed by another month, that it "has received no confirmation from federal agencies regarding the duties’ applicability to electricity or who will be responsible for paying or collecting them.”

But last week, utilities and grid operators were unsure whether tariffs would even apply to electricity from Canada or if the tariff threat would be resolved.