Minnesota
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
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.
Minnesota
NHL announces start time for Dallas Stars/Minnesota Wild Game 6 on April 30 | Dallas Stars
FRISCO, Texas — The National Hockey League announced that the start time for Game 6 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round series between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild has been set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 30 at Grand Casino Arena.
Minnesota
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has shocking reaction to FBI raids at day care centers — after previously slamming Trump admin
Lame-duck Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made a stunning about-face after the federal raids on Minnesota day care centers Tuesday — after previously denouncing fraud investigations as “white supremacy.”
In a thread on X, Walz — the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president — said he was putting criminals “on notice” and tried to take credit for the investigations.
“If you commit fraud in Minnesota you’re going to get caught — and that’s exactly what we saw today. We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” he wrote.
“Today’s raids by state and federal law enforcement happened because our state agencies caught irregular behavior and reported it. That’s how the system is supposed to work, and our agencies will keep at it as long as there are fraudsters around to put behind bars,” he said in uncharacteristically full-throated support for the law enforcement action.
However, he also added a call to investigate the killing of two Minnesotans by federal immigration agents earlier this year.
“Now let’s work on a joint investigation into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — instead of cherry-picking when we seek justice and when we turn a blind eye,” he said.
In January, Walz announced he would not seek a third term as governor after being accused of allowing mass fraud — largely among Somali immigrants — to fester under his watch.
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
Eight Minnesota DFL lawmakers have proposed a bill that would penalize cities and counties that do not fly the 2024 Minnesota state flag.
“The commissioner of revenue must reduce the aid to a county or city … ten percent if the county or city flies or otherwise makes use of a state flag other than the design of the state flag as certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission,” the proposal says.
State DFL Rep. Mike Frieberg is one of the authors of the bill.
“I’ve been a little disappointed in the cities around Minnesota that have been kind of manufacturing this culture war over this state flag,” said Freiberg. “I felt like it was important for there to kind of be a statement legislatively in support of the new state flag, which is the official state flag.”
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is also running for Minnesota governor, says the bill has no chance.
“That bill is dead on arrival. There is no way this bill is moving through,” said Demuth. “To know that Democrats are trying to take funding away from our police and fire, from our cities, it’s ridiculous. We have real work that could help Minnesotans.”
On Monday, the Inver Grove Heights City Council voted to fly the old state flag on city property after more than an hour of public comment, joining other cities across the state, including Elk River, Champlin, Zumbrota and Plainview, in doing so.
Inver Grove Heights officials expect the switch back to the old flag will cost around $500 and take a few weeks to complete.
In 2023, the Legislature, which was DFL-controlled at the time, created a flag commission tasked with redesigning the flag and the state seal. The newly created symbols took effect in 2024. Freiberg helped lead the effort as lawmakers criticized the flag design and depiction of Native Americans.
“The old flag is not only kind of boring but also kind of racist,” Freiberg said.
Demuth says the flag commission’s decision process didn’t truly represent people across the state.
“They felt as Minnesotans, they were disrespected in the process and everyone I have talked to wants the old flag back or at least a choice in the matter,” she said.
The redesign commission said it heard over 20,000 public comments and considered more than 2,000 designs.
“We heard from thousands of Minnesotans as part of the flag process. It’s the job of the Legislature to choose the state symbols. That’s what we did. We followed the process,” Freiberg said.
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