News from 2010

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News Archive
Months: February, April, June, July,
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Gardening For The General Good

A nationally known entomologist has become a vocal advocate for using our gardens as places to preserve biodiversity.

By CONNIE NELSON, Star Tribune Last update: February 16, 2010 - 3:53 PM

Douglas Tallamy might just turn your idea of gardening on its ear. That's because Tallamy judges plants not by how they look, but by how they function in the environment.

Tallamy, a professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, has studied the link between native plants and native wildlife. What he's learned is that the loss of native plants results in loss ...
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The Business Case For Greening Your Grounds

MinnPost.com

With the 40th anniversary of Earth Day upon us, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on what many businesses do when they decide to "go green."

Most of the time, business leaders focus on the inside of their facilities, from upgrading lighting and HVAC systems to initiating recycling programs. Some businesses take things one step further and complete LEED certification. (In the interest of full disclosure, our company, Murphy Warehouse Co., has undertaken many of these initiatives as well.)

Yet many of these companies' facilities are still surrounded by traditional lawns that not only ...
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Metro Storm-Water Ponds Are Chemical Soups

White Bear Lake's proposed ban on some driveway sealants is a first step in keeping contaminants out of storm-water ponds.

The local neighborhood pond fringed with spring green looks attractive, but its muddy bottom is loaded with contaminants.

Metro communities from White Bear Lake and Maplewood to South St. Paul are discovering that their storm-water ponds are chemical soups of pesticides, fertilizers, pet wastes, oil, grease and other contaminants.

With an estimated 20,000 public storm-water ponds in the metro area, and thousands more privately owned by industries and homeowner associations, state pollution officials say they expect the ...
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Collecting Rain, Cleaning Up Lakes

Raingardens have critical function and can be pleasing to the eye by Nicholas Backus Staff Writer Published: Monday, April 26, 2010 5:41 PM CDT CIRCLE PINES — Matt Percy’s neighbors often ask him when the koi fish are going in.

It’s a question repeatedly answered with “never.” Percy’s expansive front-yard raingarden wasn’t built to keep ornamental fish, although it may look like it. Besides, the sandy soil would make it hard to maintain standing water even if he tried.

“Many people ask me what it’s here for,” Percy said about his lawn depression filled with rocks and mulch. ...
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Part 1: Rules Skirted And Lakes Under Attack

http://www.startribune.com/investigators/96725284.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDi O7aiU

Dan and Janelle Tepper wanted to build a three-bedroom house on the shore of North Long Lake, but they couldn't squeeze in everything they wanted without breaking the rules. The lot in north-central Minnesota was just too narrow. They needed permission to build 20 feet closer to the lake.

Neighbors protested. They said allowing the Minneapolis buyers to build so close to the lake and a nearby road would pollute the water and flood the road. If the county was going to allow that, two neighbors argued, rules aimed at protecting the lake were not worth ...
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Part 2: A Stinking Mess

http://www.startribune.com/investigators/96767714.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1PciUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Lake Independence was supposed to be Minnesota's first success in the Clean Water program. Instead, it was our first failure.

By TOM MEERSMAN, Star Tribune Last update: June 25, 2010 - 6:23 AM

Print this story E-mail this story Save to del.icio.us Share on Facebook Share on Digg Related Content

Graphic: How farms affect Minnesota waters

Graphic: Pollution hits critical levels in 1 of 10 minnesota lakes

Graphic: One lake gets cleanup money, but makes little progress Part 1: Rules skirted and lakes under attack More from Investigators

Lawyer disbarred for misuse ...
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A Greener Celebration In Powderhorn Park National And Local Water Groups Will Help Teach About Clea

Star Tribune Last update: July 2, 2010 - 9:00 PM

Powderhorn Park is always a busy place on July 4, but this year features some new -- and green -- activities. A visiting national film crew will have its biodiesel bus parked in the south Minneapolis park, along with a "water village" and family-friendly activities.

WHO'S DOING THIS? The effort is called Expedition: Blue Planet, and it involves Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of the famous late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau. The National Geographic Society is a partner.

WHAT'S THE LOCAL CONNECTION? Minneapolis is the first stop for the ...
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Part 3: Overwhelmed And Worried

Star Tribune Last update: June 25, 2010 - 7:33 AM

As he guided his boat across the surface of Cross Lake, state conservation officer Cary Shoutz studied the lakeshore house in front of him. It was 6,900 square feet of living space crammed on a 23,000-square-foot lot with a lawn sprawling downhill. "The elevation is going to drain all the runoff into this channel here," said Shoutz, a 22-year veteran of Minnesota's lakeside enforcement wars. "It's legal. But it would have been nice if they could have left natural growth near the water and built a catch basin for ...
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