EPA denies Texas governor's ethanol waiver request The Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request to reduce the amount of biofuels that are required to be blended into gas. The ruling is important for Minnesota ethanol producers.August 7, 2008
Prairie Island nuclear plant back at full power Xcel Energy says operators at its Prairie
Island nuclear plant near Red Wing have successfully reduced levels of an ammonia-like chemical in the non-nuclear side of the plant.August 4, 2008
Cities struggle to fuel vehicle fleets The high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel is putting a squeeze on some city budgets. The city of North Mankato's fuel budget is projected to be $64,000 in the red by the end of the year.August 4, 2008
Franken outlines plan to cut energy costs DFL Senate candidate Al Franken said the federal government should sell off 50 million barrels of oil from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve over the next three months.July 28, 2008
Ford grants St. Paul plant two more years The Ford Motor Company announced this morning that its Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul will continue producing the Ranger small pickup through 2011.July 24, 2008
Taconite plant to receive clean retrofit Cleveland Cliffs Corporation says it's planning modifications at its United Taconite plant in Forbes, Minn. that will increase production while decreasing air emissions.July 23, 2008
Bachmann oil drilling plan draws skepticism Sixth District Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann insists gas prices would drop significantly if oil companies could drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.July 22, 2008
Tinklenberg announces plan to fix economy Sixth district DFL congressional candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg is proposing a $30 billion plan to boost the nation's sagging economy.July 22, 2008
The cost of reducing our carbon footprint Energy economists Peter Schwarz of the University of North Carolina Charlotte and Henry Lee of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government will offer their insight on Al Gore's recent proposal to dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuel within the next 10 years.Midday, July 22, 2008
EPA expected to rule on ethanol mandate The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to rule later this week on a request to cancel a federal ethanol mandate. Livestock farmers, food companies and others want the requirement waived.July 21, 2008
Xcel dedicates new power plant Xcel Energy is dedicating its new High Bridge power plant today. Xcel replaced the existing coal-burning plant with a natural gas-fired unitJuly 21, 2008
Vento Sanctuary acquires neighboring industrial facility A unique urban nature sanctuary next to downtown St. Paul may grow to include an interpretive center. A long awaited land deal has been completed to acquire an abandoned building next to the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.July 21, 2008
Utilities try to persuade consumers to conserve Minnesota's utilities face a daunting task: the state has told them to cut their sales of electricity and natural gas by 1.5 percent a year.July 18, 2008