Wednesday July 15, 2009 at 8:22

Global Warming Getting Blame for High Minnesota River Levels

A new report from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) says global warming is partly to blame for high river levels on Minnesota rivers.

The report says global warming was a contributing factor to record-high water levels on the Red River at the Minnesota-North Dakota border, as well as flooding in the state voer the past several years.

The report says the cycle of extreme weather events will continue to shorten, meaning storms that would typically hit once every century could hit within decades or even years of one another.

Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 8:22

Soy Mattresses

HOM Furniture is goign to start selling mattresses with Cargill’s BiOH polyols in the Twin Cities. BiOH polyols are soy-based ingredients designed to replace a portion of petroleum-based materials used in bedding foam and upholstered seat cushions.

Wednesday July 08, 2009 at 15:06

$2M to Make Minn. VA Hospitals More Energy Efficient

Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Wednesday announced Minnesota is getting $2,175,000 to improve the Minneapolis and St. Cloud VA hospitals, including improvements to energy efficiency.

“These funds will improve the infrastructure of our VA hospitals,” Klobuchar said.  “In doing so, we can put Americans to work, while making these hospitals more energy efficient and helping reduce energy costs.  This is about wise investments in facilities which serve our veterans and save everyone money in the long-term.”

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  The Minneapolis VA Medical Center will receive $1,400,00 and the St. Cloud VA Medical Center will receive $775,000.

Thursday July 02, 2009 at 10:35

Sea Change Making Splash in Minneapolis

On July 20th, James Beard Award-winning chef Tim McKee will open sustainable seafood-focused Sea Change, occupying the old Cue space at the Guthrie Theater. Over at Minnesota Monthly, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl has reported there will be a soft opening in the weeks before that.

Mpls-St. Paul mag and Bizzare Foods star Andrew Zimmern is on record saying “this new eatery should set a new standard for fish and shellfish in Minnesota.” Molly Mogren published an early taste of some offerings at Sea Change on Zimmern’s personal website. Highlights included a mussel appetizer and pasta with shrimp and uni (sea urchin).