Land & Water

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Nitrate pollution enters groundwater, streams and rivers through many sources including runoff from area agricultural fields. (Photo by John Weiss) </span>

Minnesota Nitrate Concerns Inspire Iowa Groups to Seek EPA Help

Southeast Minnesota’s nitrate pollution issues inform groups working to mitigate similar concerns in Iowa’s Driftless area.

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Trees along the lowest part of Mill Creek were cut down a few months ago, but part of the trunks were left so the roots and lower trunk could be buried in the creek’s bank for trout habitat and to protect the shoreline from erosion. (Photo by John Weiss)</span>

Mill Creek in Chatfield Gets Partial Makeover

John Weiss explores the Mill Creek Trout Stream improvement project near Chatfield.

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Production fields of Cardinal Flower and Meadow Blazing Star located outside of Spring Grove, Minnesota. (Photo by Shooting Star Native Seeds)</span>

Bold Vision, Deep Roots | Two Southeast Minnesota Nurseries Source Seed for Restoring Native Landscapes

Nancy North visits two bluff country nurseries both working to help restore native prairieland.

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Marty Walsh, Lead Organizer of the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail, hikes along the beginning of Lost Creek Hiking Trail near Chatfield. (Photo by Julie Fryer)</span>

The Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail Gets Two Steps Closer to Reality

Julie Fryer visits with Marty Walsh, the lead organizer of the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail.

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Hundreds of pelicans congregate in the backwaters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The Mississippi Flyway is a migration route followed by tens of thousands of North America’s water and shore birds. (Photo near Alma, Wisconsin by Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal)</span>

Spring Migration | Things to Know About Our Region’s Mississippi Flyway

Madeline Heim chronicles the importance of the Mississippi Flyway for spring and fall bird migration.

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Soybeans being harvested in Illinois in September 2023. Six states in the Midwest witnessed the loss of more than 30,000 farms since 2017. (Photo by Darrell Hoemann, Investigate Midwest)</span>

Farm data a ‘wake-up call’ for SE Minnesota and surrounding states’ farmers

‘Investigate Midwest’ reporters breakdown the latest Ag Census data and what it means for area farms.

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