Minnesota Today from MPR News

An editor's guide to today's news and ideas in Minnesota

Top 5

Legislature wraps; State Fair music; Using chemicals to clean up lakes

Same-sex marriage, tax hikes, all day pre-K and more

Best Buy reports loss

Minnesota State Fair music announced

Polluted lake? Just add chemicals

Typical Woodbury lawn no more!

Ecosystems work best when diverse

New research at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve north of the Twin Cities adds to a growing body of evidence that diversity matters in healthy ecosystems.

Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present.

A new University of Minnesota long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered.

via Farm and Dairy.

Top 5

Last call at the capitol; Gas prices soar; Minnesota from above

Down to the wire

Gas prices up in Minnesota

Time for improvements at the Minnesota Capitol?

Obit: Sioux elder Tom Ross

Photo: Minnesota from above

Video: How to grow hops in Minnesota

Chop & Brew: Another spring, another hop crop gets underway. In this episode of Chop & Brew, we look at the basic steps to planting hop rhizomes in containers and in the yard. Ted and Paul help new hop-growers with tip and techniques for the start of the growing season. Chop & Brew will do several episodes over the coming months on maintenance, harvesting, drying and of course a fresh-hop brew day episode.

Paddling the Namekagon

Over the weekend a large group of paddlers set off to paddle 92 miles of the Namekagon River.

The Namekagon is a Wisconsin tributary of the St Croix River.

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Flying Lotus comes to town

Flying Lotus will play First Ave on May 19. Thundercat opens.

“Flying Lotus’ albums are events. They’re not issued with a mechanic regularity and they don’t subscribe to recognized formulae. For those prone to astral traveling and metaphysical introspection they are another piece of the puzzle. For those, let’s say more ‘conventional’ listeners, the records are grand and ghostly sweeping movements – the sort of which are rarely undertaken at present. For being such a potent strain of future-thinking music, the scope of Flying Lotus’ full-lengths recall the ambition and vision of many older masters while at the same time look unflinchingly towards the beyond,” via Warp Records.

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Largest fire in 30 years in Wisconson started by logging operation

No criminal charges will be filed.

The largest wildfire in Wisconsin since 1980 was started by logging equipment Tuesday afternoon, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed Thursday.

via Duluth News Tribune.

Top 5

GOP Gov. candidates stay clear of marriage law; Frac sand roller coaster; Bison!

GOP Gov. candidates avoid calls for same-sex marriage repeal

Get by with a little vote from my friends

This law brought to you by…?

Wisconsin’s wild ride

Bison!

Prescription drug addiction on the rise in Minn.

The Pioneer Press and the Duluth News Tribune find prescription drug abuse a growing problem in Minnesota.

Narcotic prescriptions used to combat pain nearly doubled from 2005 to 2011, when there was enough oxycodone and hydrocodone distributed in Minnesota to provide 18 pills for every man, woman and child. That’s up from two pills per person in 1997.

via Pioneer Press/Duluth News Tribune .

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