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Minnesota Senate passes 100% Clean Energy Bill
The legislation, tackling the climate crisis and creating clean energy jobs, passed the Senate Thursday night and now heads to Gov. Walz’s desk.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Late Thursday night, Minnesota lawmakers passed a bill designed to cut carbon emissions statewide while creating more clean-energy jobs.
If the bill is signed by Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota utilities would be obligated to transition to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 to step up the fight against climate change under a bill speeding through the Legislature.
The bill was slated for a final vote on the Senate floor Thursday night after passing the House 70-60 last week. It’s a top priority for Democrats, who control both chambers, and for Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has made it an important part of his climate agenda.
“The 100 Percent by 2040 legislation puts Minnesota at the forefront of sustainable energy,” Democratic Sen. Nick Frentz, of North Mankato said in a statement on Thursday night. “This legislation was years in the making, and we passed it not a moment too soon. Carbon emissions are the number one threat to the health of our planet. This bill demonstrates that Minnesota takes climate change seriously and that we must act now to create an energy production system that is reliable, affordable, and responsible.”
The Senate’s two meteorologists — Democratic Sens. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, and Robert Kupec, of Moorhead — detailed for their colleagues during the Thursday debate about how climate change is accelerating across Minnesota. They said it’s leading to more extreme weather events, as well as hotter summers with more droughts and warmer winters with shorter ice-fishing seasons.
Senate Republicans said they planned to offer a long list of amendments that they said would reduce the costs to consumers and risks to the power grid, but the one-seat Democratic majority held firm on the first several votes.
According to the Clean Energy States Alliance, 21 other states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have already established some kind of 100% clean-energy standards or goals, most with target dates between 2040 and 2050.
Minnesota’s previous standard, set in 2007 by a Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, set a goal of reducing overall statewide greenhouse emissions to at least 15% below 2005 levels by 2015, 30% by 2025 and 80% by 2050.
State regulators reported Tuesday that Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions declined by 23% between 2005 and 2020 and said the state was on track to achieve 30% by 2025. The biggest drop was in power generation, where emissions fell 54% amid the switch from coal to renewable energy.
This year’s bill aims to further shift utilities away from fossil fuels to wind and solar, but it also allows them to use hydropower, biomass, hydrogen and existing nuclear plants to go carbon-free. Utilities that can’t quit coal or gas on their own could ask regulators to let them use “off ramps” to delay compliance, or they could use renewable energy credits to make up the difference.
Minnesota’s biggest utility, Xcel Energy, supports the legislation, saying it fits with the company’s own goals, even though officials say they’re not exactly sure yet how they’ll get all the way to carbon-free by 2040. But the state’s smaller rural electric cooperatives and municipal power systems say it will be a lot harder for them and that the costs to their customers will be high.
Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and other top officials in his state threatened last week to sue Minnesota if the bill is enacted, saying it would prevent North Dakota utilities from continuing to export power generated from coal and gas to Minnesota.
GOP critics in Minnesota have dubbed it a “blackout bill,” saying that it will undermine the reliability of the state’s power grid — especially on the coldest winter nights and hottest summer days — in addition to forcing consumers to pay higher energy costs.
They held a news conference before Thursday’s debate to propose a different approach, which would repeal the state’s moratorium on new nuclear power plants and allow utilities to continue to use gas and coal to ensure reliable baseload power supplies.
“Democrats are pushing for strict mandates to force utilities and our energy producers to use carbon-free energy at a pace that current technology does not support,” GOP Sen. Andrew Matthews, of Princeton, told reporters. “Hoping that cleaner technology becomes available along the way up to the goals is not a plan.”
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EDINA, Minn. — The Edina football team fell just a few yards short of winning the Minnesota State 6A Football Championship last season.
Coach Jason Potts and his team are off to a great start again this fall — and hoping to make it back to US Bank Stadium.
But at the end of the day, the Hornets said it’s the journey of one of their teammates that inspires them to keep moving forward.
“All of the doctors that I’ve had in the past doubted me a lot. It felt good to finally put on pads for the first time,” said Edina junior John Liddicoat.
Friday nights in the fall illuminate the beauty of a dream being achieved.
“I love the feeling of Friday night. Looking at the student section right before running out the tunnel, getting that adrenaline rush,” said Liddicoat.
For Liddicoat, Fridays at Kuhlman Stadium transform into a canvas of joy, inspiration and bravery.
“He’s one of the most brave guys that I’ve ever coached,” said Potts.
Pushing limits is something John has done since day one.
“John was diagnosed with Williams syndrome when he was 5 months old,” said Mary Liddicoat, John’s Mom.
“It was devastating. We were devastated. We’d never heard of the syndrome, and he was super little and it was super scary,” she added.
Williams syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that impacts many parts of the body, including cognitive delay, speech and motor skills.
“The day he was diagnosed, the geneticist said he’ll never ride a bike, and I think we both made a mental note: We’ll see,” said Liddicoat’s dad, also named John. “He can ride a bike; he didn’t learn at 3 like his brother, but he learned at 10 and he says it’s his mode of transportation now.”
John handled the handlebars… up next? A bigger challenge to tackle.
“It’s kind of a big dream of mine when I was younger to play football,” said John.
“More than any other sport, he’s always wanted to play football. Every year, when I would drive him to school, and the register for tackle football youth football signs would go up, and John would look at me in the car and say, ‘Mom, I want to play football!’ And I would say, ‘We’re not sure that’s a safe option for you,'” said Mary.
Safety concerns gave way to John’s bravery and a coach who refused to say “no” to a kid’s dream.
“One of my goals is to have access to a football program for everybody, and I didn’t want any excuses for someone to not play football, and that’s why I’m here at Edina, is to help young people chase their greatest potential,” said Potts.
“Putting on pads for the first time. Putting on a helmet for the first time. Just getting on the field, seeing my buddies, it was just a wow moment. Like, wow, I’m in pads and cleats, I’m playing football!” said John.
For the past three years, John has played football alongside his brothers, like QB Mason West.
“I’ve known him since probably first grade, and ever since, he’s just been a really smiley and happy dude. It’s honestly really fun to be around him. All of my friends love him, and it’s so good having him as part of this team,” said West.
“Just to have him on the field in the program is something special, and what he accomplishes, I don’t think he understands what he brings to the program,” said Potts.
John’s enthusiasm radiates along the sidelines every Friday night, starring in his role, encouraging teammates and coaches alike.
“You know, I might get down on myself and maybe I made a bad play call or geez, it’s raining — what do we do? And all of the sudden, you bump into John, and he just kind of flips you. And he does that to other players as well. When things get tough, it’s like you bump into John, and he’s there to lift you,” said Potts.
Lifting and inspiring others to achieve their dreams as well.
“I like to play for the other kids with disabilities that can’t do much. For me, I see kids with worse disabilities than mine, and I always feel like I need to show the world that not only can kids with disabilities do stuff, but they can play high-impact sports like football or wrestling or whatever sport they want to do,” said John.
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s a new hi-tech way for visitors to learn about downtown Minneapolis.
City officials on Wednesday cut the ribbon on new kiosks called “IKE.” They’re loaded with information so users can search for restaurants, small businesses, bathrooms and events in the area.
Unlike using a major search engine like Google, this is all tailored for Minneapolis.
“Each kiosk is going to organize based on proximity. So unlike traditional search engines that you might work with, you can’t pay for optimization. So when you select eat and drink here, the businesses in the immediate proximity end up being featured. And we hope that this functions as a way to help people discover those businesses that make Minneapolis truly unique,” said Jibran Shermohammed of IKE Smart City.
Five kiosks are live now, including one on Nicollet Mall and 20 will go live will go live by spring next year.
More than 100,000 travelers will fly out of MSP Wednesday and Thursday, but thousands more are planning a ‘staycation’ over MEA break.
LAKEVILLE, Minn. — At MSP airport, officials say Wednesday and Thursday will be the two busiest days for departures during MEA break this year. More than 49,000 travelers are expected to fly out of MSP on Wednesday, and more than 52,000 are expected to depart on Thursday. Airport officials say Thursday could become the 5th busiest travel day ever.
Meanwhile, countless families in Minnesota are planning “staycations” closer to home. At Applewood Orchard in Lakeville, workers are preparing for a busy week.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing the turnout,” employee Jackson Cox said. “If the turnout is a little lower than we think it’s always better to be prepared for more.”
The Cox family recently acquired the apple orchard, so this will be their first time hosting visitors during an MEA break.
“We’re pretty much extending all of our weekend activities to every day this week. We’re selling mini donuts, tractor rides, and more food, because we are hoping a lot of people will stop by,” Cox said.
One visitor who stopped by Wednesday was Natasha Apple from Apple Valley. That’s right, the word apple is in her name, the city she lives in, and the place she visited Wednesday afternoon.
“You really can’t make that up,” Apple laughed. “Me and my husband get it all the time. We’re the Apples and we live in Apple Valley, and we love apple orchards.”
Apple was visiting the orchard with a mom’s group from Apple Valley.
“There are eight of us here I believe,” Apple said. “It’s still stinking beautiful out so we are taking full advantage of the weather.”
And they weren’t alone at the orchard. Jenny Yohnke from Lakeville stopped by the orchard with her three boys.
“With three boys they have a lot of energy, so I brought them to the corn pit to have some fun,” Yohnke said.
She has big plans for the rest of MEA break.
“We’re heading out to the zoo tomorrow and then we have some friends with school kids, my friend from work coming to visit on Friday. We have a busy week of fun,” Yohnke said.
Other parents at the orchard said they are planning to stop by a pumpkin patch later in the week to buy their Halloween pumpkins.
Another common “staycation” idea was to enjoy a nature hike to see the fall colors, or to go to the movie theater to see a movie, or stop by the local library.
So, if you’re looking for a fun and affordable activity to get your family out of the house there are several options to choose from.
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