Connect with us

Minnesota

Climate change could drive loons out of Minnesota and Wisconsin, scientist warns

Published

on

Climate change could drive loons out of Minnesota and Wisconsin, scientist warns


MINOCQUA, Wis. — A scientist warns that the effects of climate change could ultimately drive Minnesota’s state bird out of the state entirely.

Loons captivate our imaginations and steal our hearts, but they’re literally shrinking. Loon nesting season on Blue Lake in Minocqua, Wisconsin has become a holiday of sorts.

“It is a big deal around here,” said lake resident Brian Colianni “When the chicks hatch, it’s loon watch.”

For 32 years, Professor Walter Piper, a biology professor at Chapman University in Orange, California, has made the trek from the West Coast for this front-row seat. 

Advertisement

Piper Tags and tracks loons with the help of lake residents and young research assistants from around the country.  All hoping to uncover what’s happening with the majestic icons of the north. You can follow his work online.

After cruising in Colianni’s pontoon for a while we spot a pair of chicks with their dad, but having a sibling these days is less common.

“A two-chick brood is almost getting to be a special thing now and that’s a reflection of a thing that’s going on here in Wisconsin,” said Piper.

Loon chicks are shrinking in northern Wisconsin — both in numbers and size — something that’s worsened since the early 2000s.

At one month, a loon chick used to weigh about 3.5 pounds. Now, they’re closer to 3 pounds. That worries lake residents like Brian and Teresa Colianni.

Advertisement

“It’s really disturbing because it’s such a part of our habitat and such a part of what we like up here,” said Brian Colianni.

To understand why chicks are shrinking, you first have to understand how they forage. If you’ve ever seen a loon fishing, you’ll notice they peer below the surface before diving down to grab their next meal. 

Loons need to see to hunt, and to hunt they need clear water. That’s where climate change becomes a problem. Our more frequent and intense downpours wash things like fertilizers and sediment into the water making it murky and hard to hunt.

“Parents simply can’t keep themselves alive and feed the chicks enough to keep those chicks growing,” said Piper.

The rain and heat also allow black flies to thrive. The pests can swarm and annoy loons and that can drive them off their nests.

Advertisement

“That second chick that would have made it 25 or 30 years ago when we didn’t have the water clarity problems that we have now. That second chick can’t make it anymore,” said Piper.

Piper says they used satellite images from over the decades to confirm water quality was dropping.

“It’s very serious,” said Piper.

At some point, Piper thought if this is happening in Wisconsin, it could be happening in Minnesota too. As a result, in 2021, he expanded his research into Minnesota to include places like the white fish chain of lakes near Crosslake, Minnesota. 

But Piper’s early findings in the land of ten thousand lakes are even more troubling than in Wisconsin.

Advertisement

Just 82% of Minnesota’s state birds return after wintering in the south.  That’s lower than Wisconsin’s 88%, and it surprised Piper.

Piper says while the return rate is not equivalent to the survival rate, it is certainly a strong indicator. 

“It’s another thing that’s keeping me awake at night,” said Piper.

His decades of data show loons in northern Wisconsin are declining 6% a year. 

“It means within 20 years we’ll have virtually no loons here in northern Wisconsin,” said Piper.

Advertisement

Others, like the National Audubon Society, say because of climate change, loons simply won’t live here by the end of the century. Despite all of that, we have loon-watching to enjoy in the here and now. 

As loon parents try to shelter their little ones from tough realities, others rally behind the symbolic and captivating creature. 

“My hope is just to hold on to loons. To keep loons around in Wisconsin and Minnesota,” said Piper. 

If you want to help, Piper says you can stop using lawn fertilizers. Planting or keeping native shorelines provides healthy habitat and clearer lakes. Building nest rafts can help, too. You can also get involved: Community scientists help provide important information to save the birds we love.

Advertisement



Source link

Minnesota

Minnesota investigators say child care centers captured in viral video were operating as expected

Published

on

Minnesota investigators say child care centers captured in viral video were operating as expected


A video by a right-wing content creator accusing several Somali-owned child care centers in Minnesota of fraud went viral and led to compliance checks by Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The agency says they were operating normally, except for one that was not yet open when investigators arrived.



Source link

Continue Reading

Minnesota

Game Recap: Kings 5, Wild 4 (S/O) | Minnesota Wild

Published

on

Game Recap: Kings 5, Wild 4 (S/O) | Minnesota Wild


Matt Boldy scored late in the third to tie it and ultimately send the game to overtime, helping the Wild (25-10-8) extend their point streak to six games (3-0-3). Brock Faber had a goal and an assist, Jake Middleton and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored, and Jesper Wallstedt made 34 saves.

It was the second game of a back-to-back for Minnesota, which is coming off a 5-2 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Wild and Kings will play again in Los Angeles on Monday.

“It was far from perfect of a game from us,” Faber said. “I thought we could have played better. With that quick turnaround, we’ll take the point. Now we need two in the next.”

Kempe put the Kings up 1-0 at 6:08 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot from close range off Anze Kopitar’s cross-slot pass from below the goal line.

Advertisement

Middleton tied it up 1-1 at 8:28, getting his first goal of the season in 36 games on a snap shot from the left circle set up by Mats Zuccarello.

“I think he thought I was Kirill (Kaprizov) in the slot there, so it was nice to get one,” Middleton joked. “I normally have a few goals before I take 35 games off from scoring, so this one was getting a little stressful but we got it out of the way.”

Perry gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead at 16:57 of the second period when Byfield’s shot struck him in the wrist and redirected in for the power-play goal.

Eriksson Ek tied it 2-2 at 18:23 on the power play, taking Quinn Hughes’ stretch pass at the offensive blue line for a short breakaway, fending off defenseman Joel Edmundson and scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle.

Byfield put Los Angeles back in front 3-2 at 4:54 of the third period. He shot the puck caroming off the boards back into the crease, where Wallstedt lost it in his skates and it was eventually knocked in by a Wild stick during the ensuing scramble in front.

Advertisement

“Shouldn’t be, that was terrible,” Byfield joked when asked if he knew it was his goal. “No, it’s good. I think it’s two now that were liked that, so I’ll take them how they come.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the defensive as fraud allegations mount after viral video uncovered Somali aid scheme

Published

on

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the defensive as fraud allegations mount after viral video uncovered Somali aid scheme


Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against the ever-growing fraud allegations levied against him in the disastrous aftermath of a viral video where an independent journalist cracked open a crucial part of the alleged Somali aid scheme.

A spokesperson for Walz, a Democrat who frequently provokes President Trump’s ire, addressed a bombshell video posted by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley.

“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” the spokesperson told Fox News.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz listens during a hearing with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee at the US Capitol on June 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

The spokesperson added that Walz has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”

Advertisement

In the 43-minute video published on Friday, Shirley and a Minnesotan named David travel around Minneapolis and visit multiple childcare and learning centers allegedly owned by Somali immigrants.

Many were either shuttered entirely, despite signage indicating they were open, or helmed by staff who refused to participate in the video.

YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a mega-viral video on Friday uncovering new parts of the alleged Somali aid scheme. X / Nick Shirley

One of the buildings they visited displayed a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center.” The ‘learning’ center is supposed to account for at least 99 children and funneled roughly $4 million in state funds, according to the video.

Shirley appeared on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show” on Sunday evening and boasted about his findings. He joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartener could figure out there is fraud going on.”

“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” Shirley said.

Advertisement
Shirley was kicked out for trespassing in one of the centers. X / Nick Shirley
Shirley joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartener could figure out there is fraud going on. X / Nick Shirley

“There better be change. People are demanding it. The investigation have been launched just from that video alone. So there better be change, like I said we work way too hard to be paying taxes and not knowing where our money’s going,” he added.

Many officials have echoed Shirley’s calls for change, with FBI Director Kash Patel even announcing that the agency surged extra personnel to investigate the resources doled out to Minnesota. He said this is one of the first steps in a wide-reaching effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency was fielding additional personnel to investigate fraud in Minnesota. FNTV

Federal investigators say half of the $18 billion granted to Minnesota since 2018 could have been stolen by fraudulent schemes — amounting to up to $9 billion in theft.

As of Saturday evening, 86 people have been charged in relation to these fraud scams, with 59 convicted so far.

Most of those accused of fraud come from Minnesota’s Somali community.

Advertisement

Shirley’s mega-viral video cracked 100 million views Sunday night.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending