This Saturday morning, as I was loading our recycling bins and a single yellow bag of garbage into the back of the car, my neighbor Joey called out from behind me: “Hey! Headed to dump? Me too, see you there!” “Great minds, I guess!” I yelled in return. Living at the end of a dirt […]
Waste Not: Reclaiming Rural Resilience in a Disposable Age Read More »
Today, Sierra Club, CURE, and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) sent a letter to Minnesota Power demanding that the company address problems associated with storage and management of coal ash wastewater at the coal-fired Boswell Energy Center, which violate the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and associated federal regulations. Under a federal rule governing management of coal ash
Private equity acquisition of public utility would result in “net harm” On July 15th, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) released her report recommending that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) reject the proposed private equity buyout of ALLETE, Inc., parent company of Minnesota Power, a Duluth-based regulated electric utility serving northern Minnesota residential and industrial customers. Under
Minnesota’s Tragedy and the Power of Collective Decency CURE is devastated by the assassination of Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the attempted assassination of Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Both families lived lives dedicated to helping others, at the legislature and beyond. We knew Speaker Emerita Hortman as a devoted public
This Is Not Normal Read More »
End of the 2025 Special Session This is the fourth and final CURE Legislative update of the 2025 Session. Check out our previous updates here: Keeping it Real and Rural; CURE’s Cliff Notes; and The Show Must Go On. Just before 2:00 am on Tuesday, June 9th, the Minnesota legislature wrapped up special session, passing all the necessary
This spring, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison created the Advisory Task Force on Future of Minnesota’s Water. This Task Force aims to study issues affecting the stewardship of Minnesota’s water resources, explore best practices, and collaborate to develop a broad set of recommendations for policymakers and regulators, advocacy groups and business leaders, communities, and individuals. Additionally,
A Brief Update on CURE’s priorities at the end of the Regular Legislative Session This is the third CURE Legislative update of 2025. Stay tuned for our end-of-session wrap-up at the conclusion of the special session. As of Monday, May 19th, the 2025 Regular Session of the Minnesota State Legislature has come to an end.
The Show Must Go On Read More »
MN PUC declines to reconsider CO2 pipeline permit decision for Otter Tail & Wilkin Counties On April 21st, Summit Carbon Solutions—the company proposing to build the controversial five-state, 2,500-mile Midwest Carbon Express CO2 pipeline network—faced yet another significant setback when South Dakota rejected its application for a permit to build and operate approximately 700 miles of pipeline
South Dakota regulators reject Summit’s CO2 pipeline permit Read More »
Why Minnesota Power Should Not Be Privatized ALLETE—a publicly traded energy company headquartered in Duluth MN—announced in May 2024 its plan to be acquired by two large, private investors: the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). Among ALLETE’s other holdings it owns Minnesota Power—a public utility serving 150,000 Minnesotan residents, 14 municipalities,
Take the Power Back Read More »
Minnesota, like states across the country, is facing a sudden influx of proposals to build massive “hyperscale” data centers to meet the demands of big tech companies looking to scale up artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency mining, cloud computing, and related digital technologies. But while the advancement of Big Tech projects careens forward at breakneck speed, the public scrutiny
Gird Your Loins: Navigating the Wave of Data Center Development in Minnesota Read More »
Kelsey Olson (she/her) joined CURE in 2025 as its Director of Environmental Stewardship. As a skilled environmental naturalist, Kelsey’s work focuses broadly on environmental education and advocacy with a keen focus on rural land use and how that use impacts our environment and climate. Working Lands, how land is used to support agriculture and forestry, is a key focus of her work. She brings 15 years’ experience in public communication, environmental education, and rural community engagement – strong communication strategies are core in her work. This includes two terms of service with AmeriCorps in the VISTA program in Oregon and Maryland and a nearly 10-year career as a naturalist followed. She recently worked on communications and marketing for rural economic development.
Kelsey lives in New London, MN, with her young children, husband, dog, and two cats. They enjoy spending time together outside and finding small treasures in nature. Visits to Minneapolis often include visits to one of their favorite historical museums, the Minnesota Swedish Institute. Kelsey enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, whether this is canning local produce, making kombucha, or other treats!
