Tag: minnesota

Farm Management Mimics the Past

Increasing numbers of American farmers are going "back to the
future" – moving away from the high-investment, high-energy farming
methods of the last fifty years, and experimenting with modern versions
of more traditional techniques. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Stephanie Hemphill reports:

Market Testing Irradiated Beef

Early next year, the nation’s two largest meat-packers will test market
a new product—ground beef that’s been irradiated to kill harmful
bacteria. The Federal Food and Drug Administration approved irradiation
for red meat in 1997, but the meat industry has been moving cautiously.
Companies are unsure whether consumers will accept irradiated meat. The
product got a major test recently in Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio’s
Mary Losure reports:

A New Indicator for Global Warming?

Researchers in Wisconsin have identified a species of dragonfly never
seen in the state before. They’ll be watching it as a possible
indicator of global climate change. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Stephanie Hemphill reports:

Massive Storm Strands Campers

In northern Minnesota, huge stretches of the popular Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness were severely damaged in a massive July fourth storm. One
hundred mile an hour winds flattened trees in a swath thirty miles long and
twelve miles wide. The emergency prompted the forest service to suspend the
rules against motors in the wilderness. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Stephanie Hemphill reports it may take months to make the portages useable
again:

Problem Geese Headed for Soup Kitchens

Canadian geese can easily be found alongside roadways or in suburban
neighborhoods at numbers far greater than a decade ago. Each year
millions of the birds migrate north through the Mississippi Fly-Way
settling in the Great Lakes region, leaving states grappling with ways
to control hordes of geese. In Ohio, a new plan is underway to use
so-called problem geese as food for soup kitchens. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Turkey Power

Manure management is a messy business. While farmers usually spread
manure as fertilizer, some are struggling to find enough land and can be
left with the costly expense of disposal. Now turkey farmers in central
Minnesota want to build the country’s first manure fueled power plant.
They say the plant will be a financial boost to farmers and help ease
the public’s concern over odor and pollution. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Kathryn Herzog reports:

Scientists Push for Tougher Arsenic Standards

Groundwater in some Great Lakes states has been found to meet or exceed
acceptable levels of naturally occurring arsenic. Growing concern about
the health effects of arsenic consumption recently prompted the U-S
Academy of Sciences to recommend that the federal government create more
stringent standards for human consumption of arsenic. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Marisa Helms has the story:

Delisting the Wolf

Since being placed on the endangered species list in 1974, wolves hve
made a healthy recovery in the upper Midwest. Now, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and Michigan are all preparing for the expected delisting of wolves from
that list. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Stephanie Hemphill
reports:

Study on Great Lakes Cooperation

A report released this week (5/10/99) by sporting and conservation
groups in the upper Midwest calls for regional cooperation in dealing
with mercury contamination in fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Nick Van Der Puy reports: