Minnesota
Regulators OK permits for Minnesota Power, Great River Energy transmission line
DULUTH — State regulators approved two key permits for a planned transmission line linking the Iron Range and central Minnesota.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, a five-member board overseeing the state’s regulated utilities, granted a route permit and certificate of need Thursday to the Northern Reliability Project, a planned 180-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line to be built jointly by Minnesota Power and Great River Energy.
The double-circuit line will stretch from Minnesota Power’s Iron Range Substation in Itasca County to Great River Energy’s substations in Benton and Sherburne counties.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2025 in Benton and Sherburne counties, and work on the remainder of the project will begin in 2027. It could be operational by 2030.
Gary Meader / Duluth Media Group
The project will largely follow existing transmission line corridors.
Minnesota Power and Great River Energy said in a news release Thursday that costs are expected to exceed $1 billion. The Public Utilities Commission will separately review and consider how Minnesota Power’s share of the project is recovered.
The
project was one of 18 projects
totaling $10.3 billion approved by the region’s grid operator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, in July 2022.
The Northern Reliability Project and other major grid upgrades are key in transitioning from coal-fired power plants to renewables like wind and solar. Duluth-based Minnesota Power has provided 50% renewable energy since 2021 and expects to have 80% carbon-free sources by 2030, while Great River Energy, which provides electricity to cooperatives across Minnesota, anticipates it will provide 90% carbon-free power by 2035.
The transition to renewables and an expected increase in energy demand will require a more interconnected grid.
In October,
the U.S. Department of Energy said in a study that
the transmission system would need to at least double in size by 2050 but would need to increase by 3.5 times the size of the 2020 system if the U.S. electricity system were to reach a 100% greenhouse gas emission reduction by mid-century.
The study said the buildout of more transmission can also help the grid during increasingly extreme weather events.
“This joint project with Great River Energy will support local reliability and enhance the regional grid as the way we generate, transmit and use electricity evolves. It also will enhance the grid’s flexibility and resiliency,” Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Power’s vice president of transmission and distribution, said in the news release.
Great River, which provides power to power cooperatives throughout Minnesota, agreed.
“This project will serve Minnesotans for decades, helping ensure a reliable, resilient electric grid for our region as our energy transition continues,” Priti Patel, Great River’s vice president and chief transmission officer, said in the news release.
Jimmy Lovrien covers environment-related issues, including mining, energy and climate, for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at jlovrien@duluthnews.com or 218-723-5332.
Minnesota
Minnesota investigators say child care centers captured in viral video were operating as expected
Minnesota
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.
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.
“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.”
Minnesota
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.
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.”
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
Shirley’s mega-viral video cracked 100 million views Sunday night.
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