Kirsti Marohn
@kirstimarohn.bsky.social
Correspondent for MPR News covering central Minnesota, water, energy and the environment.
As demand for energy surges in Minnesota, interest in battery storage booms www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
As demand for energy surges in Minnesota, interest in battery storage booms
Batteries can store electricity from solar and wind when it’s plentiful and cheap to produce, and release it when it’s in short supply. There's a growing consensus that batteries are critical to makin...
www.mprnews.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
As demand for energy surges in Minnesota, interest in battery storage booms www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe sues 3M, other companies over 'forever chemicals' contamination www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe sues 3M, other companies over 'forever chemicals' contamination
The lawsuit says the band's testing found "alarming" levels of PFAS in lake water, fish and deer on the Leech Lake Reservation. Tribal members depend on hunting, fishing and cultivating wild rice for ...
www.mprnews.org
October 15, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe sues 3M, other companies over 'forever chemicals' contamination www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Whitefish Chain’s early attack on invasive species shows signs of success www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Whitefish Chain’s early attack on invasive species shows signs of success
Starry stonewort, a fast-growing invasive algae, was discovered in the Rush Lake channel. The Whitefish Chain of Lakes Association mounted a counter-attack, including hand pulling, chemical treatment ...
www.mprnews.org
October 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Whitefish Chain’s early attack on invasive species shows signs of success www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Family sues Crow Wing County over 2024 death of man in jail www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Family sues Crow Wing County over 2024 death of man in jail
Robert Slaybaugh, 57, was booked into the jail in February 2024 on suspicion of drunk driving. He was later found unresponsive in his cell. The lawsuit claims the county ignored red flags that he was ...
www.mprnews.org
October 14, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Family sues Crow Wing County over 2024 death of man in jail www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Minnesota receives more than $100 million every year from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help people pay home heating costs. About 107,000 Minnesota households, including both homeowners and renters, have received help this winter paying utility bills.
After federal firings, officials worry about program that helps many Minnesotans pay for heat
Minnesota was scheduled to receive an additional $12 million to $13 million in LIHEAP funds to help another 10,000 households. If that payment is delayed, the program could run out of money by mid-Apr...
www.mprnews.org
April 3, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Minnesota receives more than $100 million every year from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help people pay home heating costs. About 107,000 Minnesota households, including both homeowners and renters, have received help this winter paying utility bills.
Reposted by Kirsti Marohn
Minnesota has distributed about $10 million a year to counties for aquatic invasive species prevention for the past decade. Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget reduced that amount by 50 percent and some lake advocates worry cutting the funding could potentially lead to more infested waters.
Proposed cut in local aid to prevent aquatic invasive species sparks fears of more infested lakes
For the past decade, Minnesota has distributed about $10 million a year to counties for aquatic invasive species prevention. Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget reduced that amount by 50 percent. Some lak...
www.mprnews.org
April 2, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Minnesota has distributed about $10 million a year to counties for aquatic invasive species prevention for the past decade. Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget reduced that amount by 50 percent and some lake advocates worry cutting the funding could potentially lead to more infested waters.
Several organizations in St. Cloud led by people of color are working to address local housing needs. A recent study found the city will need 17,000 new housing units over the next decade and a half to meet anticipated demand.
In St. Cloud, leaders of color aim to fill community's housing need
Several organizations in St. Cloud led by people of color are working to address local housing needs. A recent study found the city will need 17,000 new housing units over the next decade and a half t...
www.mprnews.org
March 27, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Several organizations in St. Cloud led by people of color are working to address local housing needs. A recent study found the city will need 17,000 new housing units over the next decade and a half to meet anticipated demand.
"Ick" factor aside, it was interesting to look back at the rapid development of this scientific process during the COVID pandemic, and how it could help alert scientists to new disease outbreaks in the future.
A look at how wastewater sampling emerged during COVID-19
mprnews.org/story/2025/0...
By @mprnews.org’s @kirstimarohn.bsky.social, with #dataviz by @apmresearchlab.org
mprnews.org/story/2025/0...
By @mprnews.org’s @kirstimarohn.bsky.social, with #dataviz by @apmresearchlab.org
COVID boosted efforts to track diseases in wastewater
Before the COVID pandemic, wastewater sampling wasn't routinely done for public health purposes. But as the case number climbed scientists and public health officials saw the value of getting a sneak ...
mprnews.org
March 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
"Ick" factor aside, it was interesting to look back at the rapid development of this scientific process during the COVID pandemic, and how it could help alert scientists to new disease outbreaks in the future.
Reposted by Kirsti Marohn
Attorney General Keith Ellison filed charges in Beltrami County on Friday against Michelle Skroch, a former nurse at the county jail. Skroch was the director of nursing for MEnD Correctional Care, the former healthcare provider at the jail, at the time of Hardel Sherrell's death.
Former jail nurse charged in death of Hardel Sherrell while in custody in Beltrami County
A former nurse at the Beltrami County Jail is facing charges in the 2018 death of Hardel Sherrell, who was incarcerated at the time.
www.mprnews.org
March 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Attorney General Keith Ellison filed charges in Beltrami County on Friday against Michelle Skroch, a former nurse at the county jail. Skroch was the director of nursing for MEnD Correctional Care, the former healthcare provider at the jail, at the time of Hardel Sherrell's death.
Reposted by Kirsti Marohn
The COVID-19 pandemic upended life in Minnesota and across the country in March 2020. Schools and businesses closed. Hospitals nearly reached a breaking point as deaths and hospitalizations leaped. Five charts show different ways in which the pandemic shaped us.
COVID in Minnesota: Five years in five graphs
The COVID-19 pandemic upended life in Minnesota and across the country in March 2020. Schools and businesses closed. Hospitals nearly reached a breaking point as deaths and hospitalizations leaped. Fi...
www.mprnews.org
March 10, 2025 at 11:08 AM
The COVID-19 pandemic upended life in Minnesota and across the country in March 2020. Schools and businesses closed. Hospitals nearly reached a breaking point as deaths and hospitalizations leaped. Five charts show different ways in which the pandemic shaped us.
Reposted by Kirsti Marohn
Every winter, thousands of people fish on Minnesota’s frozen lakes. Some leave trash, an unsightly problem that can affect a lake’s health.
Lake advocates say a recent Minnesota law targeting litter left on the ice is helping curb the problem.
Lake advocates say a recent Minnesota law targeting litter left on the ice is helping curb the problem.
New fines and awareness help reduce litter on Minnesota lakes, but advocates want more action
Lake advocates say a recent state law is helping curb the problem of trash left on Minnesota’s frozen lakes. But they're hoping for more action, including passage of a bill requiring state agencies es...
www.mprnews.org
March 7, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Every winter, thousands of people fish on Minnesota’s frozen lakes. Some leave trash, an unsightly problem that can affect a lake’s health.
Lake advocates say a recent Minnesota law targeting litter left on the ice is helping curb the problem.
Lake advocates say a recent Minnesota law targeting litter left on the ice is helping curb the problem.
Completed in 1961, the striking Abbey Church is the flagship of St. John’s, and a heralded example of modern architecture.
As inspiration for ‘The Brutalist,’ famed St. John’s Abbey Church gains renewed interest
Completed in 1961, the strikingly unique Abbey Church is the flagship of St. John’s, and a heralded example of modern architecture. It’s also the inspiration for “The Brutalist,” one of the favorites ...
www.mprnews.org
February 28, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Completed in 1961, the striking Abbey Church is the flagship of St. John’s, and a heralded example of modern architecture.
Reposted by Kirsti Marohn
The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council on Monday issued a joint statement stating that they’ve started to study replacing those Northstar trains through the northwest Twin Cities metro area with buses.
Northstar commuter trains from Minneapolis to Big Lake could be replaced with bus service
After more than 15 years, the days of Northstar commuter rail service between Minneapolis and Big Lake may be numbered. MnDOT and the Met Council are considering replacing Northstar commuter trains th...
www.mprnews.org
February 24, 2025 at 7:52 PM
The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council on Monday issued a joint statement stating that they’ve started to study replacing those Northstar trains through the northwest Twin Cities metro area with buses.
Rahima Frogh is grateful her family is safe, and now living in St. Cloud. But she worries about the relatives she left behind.
For a St. Cloud family, Trump's pause of refugee admissions brings worry for Afghan relatives
One of President Trump’s first actions after taking office was an executive order indefinitely suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program. A family living in St. Cloud who fled Afghanistan a yea...
www.mprnews.org
February 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Rahima Frogh is grateful her family is safe, and now living in St. Cloud. But she worries about the relatives she left behind.
Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said the signs detract from the state's natural scenic beauty, and pose a safety concern for motorists. He authored a bill that would impose a statewide moratorium on new billboards. www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...
Minnesota lawmaker wants statewide ban on new billboard signs
Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said the signs detract from the state's natural scenic beauty and pose a safety concern for motorists. Billboard companies say the bill would hurt local businesses and ...
www.mprnews.org
February 13, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said the signs detract from the state's natural scenic beauty, and pose a safety concern for motorists. He authored a bill that would impose a statewide moratorium on new billboards. www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...
Latest in Getting to Green, from Dan Kraker: "Virtual" power plants -- known as non-wires alternatives -- could play an increasingly important role in meeting Minnesota's clean energy goals.
How ‘virtual’ power plants could help Minnesota charge toward a clean energy future
As it gets more expensive and costly to build traditional power plants and electric distribution systems, so-called “virtual power plants” could play an increasingly important role in meeting Minnesot...
www.mprnews.org
February 12, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Latest in Getting to Green, from Dan Kraker: "Virtual" power plants -- known as non-wires alternatives -- could play an increasingly important role in meeting Minnesota's clean energy goals.
Many data centers use water — sometimes in large amounts — to cool their equipment. That’s raising some concerns about their impacts on the state’s groundwater supplies.
Water-guzzling data centers spark worries for Minnesota’s groundwater
A single large data center can use millions of gallons of water a day, as much as thousands of homes. But pinpointing exactly how many are being built and how much water they’ll use can be a challenge...
www.mprnews.org
February 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Many data centers use water — sometimes in large amounts — to cool their equipment. That’s raising some concerns about their impacts on the state’s groundwater supplies.
Speaking to a full house of contractors who work in Stearns County shoreland areas about the @mprnews.org series “Trouble by the water.” These are folks doing real work, with the capacity to make a difference in how lakeshore is developed. They were a great audience.
February 6, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Speaking to a full house of contractors who work in Stearns County shoreland areas about the @mprnews.org series “Trouble by the water.” These are folks doing real work, with the capacity to make a difference in how lakeshore is developed. They were a great audience.
Reposted by Kirsti Marohn
Owls that live in the boreal forest in Canada, hundreds of miles away, have flown south to northeastern Minnesota in search of their preferred food, small rodents called voles. Several owls have been killed and injured by vehicles.
Owl ‘irruption’ brings joy for birders, concerns for owls in northeast Minnesota
An uncommon owl “irruption” has brought large numbers of owls to northeast Minnesota, and also brought a ton of tourists and birders flocking to see them. Several owls have been killed and injured by ...
www.mprnews.org
February 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Owls that live in the boreal forest in Canada, hundreds of miles away, have flown south to northeastern Minnesota in search of their preferred food, small rodents called voles. Several owls have been killed and injured by vehicles.
Story by @msepic.bsky.social on a central Minnesota dairy farmer facing felony wage theft and racketeering charges over allegations that he underpaid and mistreated his immigrant workers.
Alleged mistreatment of migrant workers nets felony charges for Minnesota farmer
A central Minnesota dairy farmer is facing felony wage theft and racketeering charges over allegations that he underpaid and threatened his immigrant workers and subjected them to unsanitary living co...
www.mprnews.org
February 4, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Story by @msepic.bsky.social on a central Minnesota dairy farmer facing felony wage theft and racketeering charges over allegations that he underpaid and mistreated his immigrant workers.
A new report shows Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions rebounded after falling sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's not clear whether the state is on track to meet its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2025, or reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Report: Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions bounced back after pandemic, still below 2019 level
Transportation remains the state’s largest source of greenhouse gases, contributing nearly 30 percent of emissions. It’s not clear whether Minnesota is on track to meet its goals of reducing greenhous...
www.mprnews.org
January 31, 2025 at 2:08 PM
A new report shows Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions rebounded after falling sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's not clear whether the state is on track to meet its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2025, or reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Environmental groups are suing two state agencies over nitrate contamination in southeast Minnesota. The lawsuit alleges the agencies have failed to protect water resources from farm-related nitrate pollution, and asks them to reopen state rules that govern animal manure and commercial fertilizer.
Environmental groups sue Minnesota agencies over nitrate pollution
The lawsuit alleges the agencies have failed to adopt regulations that are adequate to protect water resources from farm-related nitrate pollution. It also asks the agencies to reopen state rules that...
www.mprnews.org
January 29, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Environmental groups are suing two state agencies over nitrate contamination in southeast Minnesota. The lawsuit alleges the agencies have failed to protect water resources from farm-related nitrate pollution, and asks them to reopen state rules that govern animal manure and commercial fertilizer.
A plan to build a 180-mile high-voltage transmission line from the Iron Range to Benton/Sherburne counties cleared a major hurdle. Minnesota Power and Great River Energy say it's needed to help maintain a reliable power grid, as they transition away from fossil fuel plants and add solar and wind.
Proposed high-voltage powerline gets state regulators’ approval
Minnesota Power and Great River Energy jointly plan to build the 180-mile project, which could cost upwards of $1 billion. The utilities say the new high-voltage line is needed to help maintain a reli...
www.mprnews.org
January 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
A plan to build a 180-mile high-voltage transmission line from the Iron Range to Benton/Sherburne counties cleared a major hurdle. Minnesota Power and Great River Energy say it's needed to help maintain a reliable power grid, as they transition away from fossil fuel plants and add solar and wind.
University of Minnesota researchers have been working to develop winter crops that can be made into biofuels -- including sustainable aviation fuel -- plus have other environmental benefits. Their work is getting renewed attention and now, a financial boost.
Could winter-hardy crops fuel airline flights of the future? U of M researchers think it’s possible
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have been studying winter oilseed crops that can be turned into sustainable aviation fuel and provide other environmental benefits. Interest in SAF has been ...
www.mprnews.org
January 22, 2025 at 2:28 PM
University of Minnesota researchers have been working to develop winter crops that can be made into biofuels -- including sustainable aviation fuel -- plus have other environmental benefits. Their work is getting renewed attention and now, a financial boost.
Harmful chemicals in sewage sludge spread on pasture as fertilizer pose a risk to people who regularly consume milk, beef and other products from those farms, in some cases raising cancer risk “several orders of magnitude” above what the EPA considers acceptable, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer pose cancer risk, EPA says
Harmful chemicals in sewage sludge spread on pasture as fertilizer pose a risk to people who regularly consume milk, beef and other products from those farms, in some cases raising cancer risk “severa...
www.mprnews.org
January 14, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Harmful chemicals in sewage sludge spread on pasture as fertilizer pose a risk to people who regularly consume milk, beef and other products from those farms, in some cases raising cancer risk “several orders of magnitude” above what the EPA considers acceptable, federal officials announced Tuesday.