Articles written by Dan Kraker
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Army Corps rules in favor of Band on Polymet plan
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has revoked a key permit for the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, formerly known as the PolyMet project. The Army Corps rescinded the permit, known as the Clean Water Act “Section 4...
After we cut them all down ... bringing back the white pine
In a forest several miles north of Grand Rapids, John Pastor places his hands on the trunk of a giant white pine, cranes back his neck and gazes up into its crown, a hundred feet above. “For me, I j... 
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Northern Minnesota researchers close in on sulfate pollution solution
Outside the wastewater treatment plant in the Iron Range town of Aurora, a small trailer could hold clues to solving a big environmental problem facing northern Minnesota — how to protect wild rice from sulfate, a pollutant released by iron ore m... Website
Fond du Lac Band celebrates return of sacred sites
Just over a century ago, a work crew dug up the remains of nearly 200 Ojibwe people from a burial ground at the end of Wisconsin Point, a long peninsula that juts out into Lake Superior across the water from Duluth. Among the exhumed was Chief Osaugi... Website
Tribes sue EPA over new water quality standards
Two northern Minnesota Native American tribes have sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a bid to reverse recent changes the state made to its water quality standards. The tribes argue the changes are likely to damage wild rice and... Website
Chippewa Tribe members vote to eliminate blood quantum
Members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe have voted in a historic advisory referendum to eliminate a requirement that enrolled members must have 25 percent tribal blood. Out of nearly 7,800 ballots cast, 64 percent of voters said the “blood q... Website
EPA: Mine permit is faulty
On the first day of a first-of-its-kind public hearing this week on the fate of a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended against... Website
With ski season, another look at harmful waxes
With measurable snowfall coming to northern Minnesota the past week, cross country skiers are hitting the trails. And it’s a good bet that a majority of those skiers coat the bases of their skis in wax that contains per- and poly-fluoroalkyl s... Website
Forest service has new tribal representative
For the first time, the Superior National Forest has a full-time tribal liaison. Juan Martinez coordinates communication between the national forest and the three Ojibwe bands in northeastern...
Highway signs mark treaty boundary
State transportation officials are posting 12 highway signs in northeastern Minnesota to mark the boundaries of a treaty signed in 1854 by the U.S. government and three Ojibwe bands: the Grand... Website
Hospital space is running low
Hospital systems serving swaths of northeastern and northwestern Minnesota are struggling with the newest surge of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations amid a shortage of health care staff and rising numbers of non-Covid patients. “We were running as... Website
Why you should protect yourself from the smoky air
Minnesota's air quality has been exceptional for all the wrong reasons this week. On Thursday, an air quality monitor in Brainerd recorded the highest particulate reading ever recorded in the state, since the monitors were installed about 20 years... Website
Polymet permit faces more scrutiny
A state court on Monday sent a key air emissions permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for further consideration and additional findings. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the MPCA... Website
Court affirms Line 3 approvals based on oil demand
The Minnesota Court of Appeals handed a major victory to Enbridge Energy this week, affirming state utility regulators’ approval of the Canadian company’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project. A three-judge panel ruled 2 to 1 that there is sub...
Light is showing in Covid tunnel
For more than a year, Minnesota has been operating under some level of restrictions, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But soon, most of those restrictions will be lifted. Gov. Tim Walz last week unveiled a three-step process to remove most Covid-19... Full story
Band members navigate pipeline protests
In late February, Taysha Martineau walked out of the protest camp she built in a small patch of woods near her home on the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and knelt in the middle of the road. Elders... Website
Ruling allows pipeline work
A federal judge says Enbridge Energy can proceed with construction on its contentious Line 3 oil pipeline, less than a week after a state appellate court panel also denied a request from Minnesota tribes and environmental groups to temporarily block... Website
Can it weather the storms?
Duluth's Lakewalk hugs several miles of the city's Lake Superior shore, from the Canal Park tourist district all the way to Brighton Beach. With its sweeping view of the lake and the city, the trail... Website
Bars, restaurants to remain restricted
MPR News With COVID-19 cases moderating — but still high — across the state, and the first doses of a vaccine slowly rolling out, Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday he’s extending some of the restrictions on businesses and social gathering annou... Full story
Line 3 permits will get another look
State regulators agreed June 3 to hold an additional hearing on a key permit for the proposed Line 3 replacement project, a process that is expected to delay construction of the controversial oil pipeline by several months. The Minnesota Pollution...
Getting away up north? Not so fast
The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a travel advisory at its meeting in Grand Marais, requesting that seasonal or second homeowners stay home for the time being....
