City of Elgin City Council met July 23

City of Elgin City Council met July 23 Here is the agenda provided by the council: Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Minutes of Previous Meetings – July 9, 2025 Communications Public Comments Bids - 1. Dell R760 Servers—Purchase with...

Severe Weather Rolls Through Central Minnesota Saturday Evening

Portions of Central Minnesota saw severe weather roll through Saturday evening starting at just after 8:00pm. Portions of Todd County received severe thunderstorm warnings from just after 8:00 p.m. through 9:15 p.m. Other communities in Central...

Rising swimmer Humberto Najera reflects on challenges at California Golden Bears

David Durden Director Of Swimming & Diving/Head Coach | University of California, Berkeley AthleticsDavid Durden Director Of Swimming & Diving/Head Coach | University of California, Berkeley Athletics Thousands of high school student-athletes...

Analyst Duo Has Simple Reason for Why Justin Fields Will Succeed on Jets

Getty The Jets are backing Justin Fields in 2025, which could be why he's due to succeed. Oftentimes in sports, the world overlooks that environment matters a ton. Context and circumstances tell more – and mean more – than the box score. In recent...

Coexisting with city wildlife in the garden

Lauren Bethke By Lauren Bethke, Master Gardener City gardening is a unique blend of nurturing plants while coexisting with a surprising variety of urban wildlife. From playful squirrels to curious raccoons, and even baby bunnies nestled among your...

Biden, Harris and Walz attend funeral of Democratic lawmaker assassinated in Minnesota alongside her husband

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

Dokken: Rescued Kittson County bear cubs are doing well at wildlife rehab facility

Earlier this month, I wrote about two orphaned bear cubs that were rescued in Kittson County by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Bobby Stringer, Thief River Falls, and Kittson County sheriff’s deputies. The cubs’...

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Announces 2025 Climate Initiative Grantees

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation on June 27 announced the seventy-four recipients of its 2025 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI) grants, totaling $3.4 million. The foundation, which to date has distributed more than $17.5 million among 249...

Go Local to Save the Environment

As the Trump Administration dismantles federal environmental protections and strips the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its capacity to do its job, local governments are emerging as frontline defenders against dangerous and unchecked...

Melissa Hortman’s Loss a Blow to Minnesota Energy Policy, Shared Values

Democratic speaker, legislator, and public servant Melissa Hortman’s murder on June 14, 2025—at the hands of a political assassin—shook Minnesotans to their core. Just hours after the news broke, tens of thousands of people went ahead with a...

As Hortmans lie in state, thousands of Minnesotans line up to pay respects

A woman prays before the caskets as Melissa and Mark Hortman lie in state, along with their dog Gilbert Friday, June 27, 2025 at the Minnesota State Capitol. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman on Friday was...

'Outdoor School for All' grant program becomes law in Minnesota

Gov. Tim Walz signed the Minnesota Outdoor School For All act into law, establishing a statewide grant program to expand access to overnight outdoor education for students in fourth through 12th grades. The law allocates $848,000 to support...

Killed ex-Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman lies in state alongside husband and dog

Melissa and Mark Hortman, and their dog Gilbert, lay in state in the Minnesota state capitol rotunda on Friday. Their wooden caskets, and Gilbert’s golden urn with pawprints on it, were surrounded by trees and ferns, a nod to the greenery Melissa,...

Q&A: NEON’s Warren McLean on investments in north Minneapolis

The African American Leadership Forum and its community partners are hitting the ground running with an ambitious plan to bring $1.5 billion worth of investment to north Minneapolis over the next 10 years. The Northside Forward plan, introduced...

Gevo subsidiary announces agreement with Minnesota Soybean Processors to track and verify sustainable agriculture attributes

Killed Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman’s beloved dog, Gilbert, lays in state with her and her spouse

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

Toxic blue-green algae blooms are sprouting up in Minnesota lakes

A number of Minnesota cities have reported blue-green algae blooms this summer, causing the temporary closing of some beaches. Blue-green algae is bacteria that can be toxic for both humans and pets. "We have a lot packed into this park so on a...

Only 30% of Minneapolis parks are considered fully accessible. Advocates want that to improve.

And next year, the Park Board is scheduled to launch an ambitious, public database listing ADA amenities at every park, so users can plan their trips before they go. The goal is to meet the new “digital accessibility” rule of the ADA, which looks...

Top California Winery Releases Cool Climate Chardonnay And Pinot Noir Wines

Hawaii getty As the sun glistened off the crystalline, turquoise-colored water, it consumed the young man with its sheer exquisite transparency, knocking the wind out of him as he couldn't fully imagine its effect on him, as the pictures couldn't...

Why Is BlackRock Gunning to Take Over a Minnesota Electric Utility?

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size. Who will own our energy future? There’s a battle playing out in northern Minnesota with major ramifications for this question. It...