Minnesota

Peatlands are protecting Minnesota’s ecosystem. Scientists are working to restore them

Published

4 months ago

December 2, 2025

Peatlands are protecting Minnesota’s ecosystem. Scientists are working to restore them

Here in Minnesota, scientists say we are sitting on a climate change superhero.

Peatlands, a type of wetland, cover more than 10% of the state — that’s the most of any in the lower 48. But over time, peatlands have been misunderstood and mistreated. Now some are trying to change that.

“You might feel like we’ve jumped into a Dr. Suess novel,” said Mark Felice, a peatland scientist with The Nature Conservancy.

At the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in East Bethel, truffle top black spruces, cotton grass puffs, colorful mosses and carnivorous plants fill in where glacial lakes retreated.

“It’s just like a whole little world,” said Eric Seabloom, interim director of Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve.

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Except in this world each step squishes shaking the ground around it.

“It feels like walking on a water bed,” said Felice.

Scientists say the moss-carpeted wetland is pure magic.

“Peatlands are basically areas where as plants die they fall on the ground and then slowly decompose like your compost pile,” said Seabloom.

When that happens, it pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and stores it in the soil.

“So slowly little by little, layer by layer, we’ve built up the soil we’re standing on,” said Felice.

And while peatlands occupy just 3% of Earth’s land surface, scientists say they store about 30% of the planet’s land-based carbon. That’s more than double held by the world’s forests, according to the Nature Conservancy.

To capture their power, Felice brings along his portable greenhouse gas analyzer, which he says reminds him of R2D2 from “Star Wars.” He also carries with him laser sensors that detect methane and carbon dioxide emissions.

“Peat soil can hold about 20 times its weight in water,” said Felice

It acts like a sponge for both carbon and water, and can provide flood protection and water filtration.

“They’re sort of a hidden treasure that we don’t really think about,” said Seabloom. “Now we can understand better how these are really important, huge stores of carbon. We definitely need them.”

But over time scientists say peatlands have been misunderstood, drained for development or agriculture and scientists are now learning why that was a mistake and how we can fix it.

“People always thought of peatlands or wetlands as sort of a menace to society or something in the way to be drained away,” said Chris Lenhart, a restorationist at The Nature Conservancy. “We’re right along Cedar Creek here. This is the part that’s been straightened about 100 to 120 years ago.”

The Nature Conservancy says up to one sixth of Minnesota’s peatlands were drained in the early 20th century.

The soil of a drained peatland looks a lot like dirt.

“It’s breaking down the organic matter and releasing the carbon dioxide as opposed to holding it in place,” said Lenhart.

To fix it, restoration teams will take a straightened section of the stream and rewiggle it to it’s original form.

Restoring the stream to its original form slows the water, raises the levels, and rewets the peat soils on the shores, emitting less carbon dioxide and accumulating valuable peat once again.

The Nature Conservancy says restoring and rewetting farmed and partially-drained peatlands in Minnesota could cut roughly 6.36 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, which is like getting rid of nearly 1.5 million gas powered cars for a year.

“We can have a lot of impact by managing and taking care of a pretty small blueprint,” said Felice.

“Even around the world people know about Minnesota I’d say for peatland and wetland science and protection,” said Lenhart.

Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve is owned by the University of Minnesota. It’s an area with many active research studies and restoration projects. It’s also known nationally for its research.

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Minnesota

Minnesota lawmakers push to repeal César Chávez Day after allegations

Published

59 minutes ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota lawmakers push to repeal César Chávez Day after allegations

DFL and Latine community leaders are pushing for the repeal of César Chávez Day in Minnesota after sexual abuse allegations against the late civil rights icon have surfaced.

The New York Times published a report on March 18 detailing several allegations of sexual abuse by Chávez, a farm labor activist, including the sexual abuse of two minor girls and the assault and rape of Dolores Huerta, who led the farmworkers’ movement of the 1960s and ’70s alongside Chávez.

“The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual,” Huerta, now 95, said in a statement. “Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”

State and local leaders have quickly responded, and an effort is underway at the state Capitol to repeal the quickly approaching March 31 “César Chávez Day.”

The House passed a repeal late Monday afternoon. The Senate still have to consider it. It’s not clear whether the state would eventually designate the day with another person’s name or another farmer union-related title.

Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, DFL-St. Paul, how authored repeal legislation, said “it was gutting” to read the sexual abuse allegations.

“This legislation to repeal César Chávez Day out of the Minnesota Constitution marks one crucial step in a multi-faceted process. We acknowledge that this is merely the beginning. Constantly, we must advocate for numerous causes, recognizing that a movement transcends individual figures,” she said.

‘Drawing a clear line’

Emilia Gonzalez, executive director of Unidos Minnesota, said the repeal is about “drawing a clear line.”

“Repealing César Chávez Day is about drawing a clear line that no legacy, no matter how powerful, no matter how important, stands above the safety and dignity of our children and our community. We can honor farm workers, we can honor the movement, La Causa. We can honor the struggle of labor rights, but we don’t have to enshrine a single figure in a way that leaves no room for truth, complexity or accountability,” she said.

Rep. Liish Kozlowski, DFL-Duluth, said accountability starts with the repeal of César Chávez Day.

“Our community is showing the nation how to respond to sexual violence and violence in all of its forms,” they said. “We are showing what it means to listen and believe survivors when they break their silence. We believe them, we stand with them, and we hold individuals and institutions accountable.”

A street in St. Paul

Minnesota also has a street named after Chávez in St. Paul, as well as a charter school, Academia César Chávez.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who was at the Capitol on Monday, didn’t provide a timeline for when the street name could be changed, but said she’s getting a group of stakeholders and residents together to discuss the issue.

Ramona Arreguín de Rosales, an activist who personally met Chávez and the co-founder of Academia César Chávez, said she has recommended that the Board of Academia César Chávez change the school’s name, but said she does not want to “diminish the good work that the movement has accomplished.”

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Minnesota

NCAA women’s tournament takeaways, Day 3: Minnesota drains buzzer-beater as LSU, Texas dominate again

Published

13 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

NCAA women’s tournament takeaways, Day 3: Minnesota drains buzzer-beater as LSU, Texas dominate again

The Sweet 16 field is halfway filled as the first weekend of the NCAA tournament starts to wrap up. There weren’t a ton of surprises on Sunday for the start of the second round, but we did get our first buzzer-beater.

Minnesota reaches Sweet 16 on buzzer-beater

After a buzzer-beater was called off on Saturday, we finally got one.

Amaya Battle got her game-winner to fall on Sunday afternoon, which lifted Minnesota to what is its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005. Battle, with less than a second left on the clock, drilled a contested jumper from the short corner to push the Gophers past Ole Miss 65-63. Naturally, that sparked a massive celebration on their home court.

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Minnesota

Minnesota United’s Drake Callender, Seattle’s Andrew Thomas duel to 0-0 draw

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota United’s Drake Callender, Seattle’s Andrew Thomas duel to 0-0 draw

March 22, 2026 / 6:27 PM CDT
/ AP

Seattle’s Andrew Thomas finished with two saves and Drake Callender did likewise as the Sounders and Minnesota United played to a scoreless draw on Sunday.

It was the third straight and fourth shutout in five starts this season for Thomas. The 27-year-old took the starting reins from mainstay Stefan Frei — now in a backup role. He hasn’t allowed a goal since a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake in Seattle’s road opener. He also blanked the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the season opener at home. Thomas had the lone save of the first half.

Callender notched his second clean sheet in his first season with Minnesota United. Callender and Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Claire switched teams in the offseason. Callender made 92 starts for Miami beginning in 2022, but only five last season.

Jordan Morris saw his first action for the Sounders (3-1-1) since he was injured in the season opener. Morris entered in the 65th minute along with Jesús Ferreira and 18-year old midfielder Snyder Brunell.

Seattle was coming off back-to-back 1-0 road victories over St. Louis City and the San Jose Earthquakes.

Minnesota United (1-2-2) came in after being outscored 9-1 in two straight road losses to Nashville SC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Minnesota swept Seattle during the regular season last year and then eliminated the Sounders in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs, winning twice at home on penalty kicks after 0-0 and 3-3 draws in regulation. Seattle posted a 4-2 victory at home in the middle match.