Very few. But a growing percentage.

I hear that lawn mowing season has started... well, it was a nice spring while it lasted.

Volvo electric semi scores another real-world win with Coca-Cola Pepsi may grab headlines with their Tesla tie-in, but arch rival Coca-Cola is quietly building an electric semi truck fleet of its own.

So China & Tesla don’t steal all the headlines, Volvo Trucks (Volvo Group) quietly put 5,000+ electric trucks into real-world deployment, logging 100+ million zero-emission miles over the past five years.

Not under Geely. Not hype. This is happening. EV trucks are scaling everywhere, all at once.

I often think back to 2021, when I got my Bolt, and how hard it was to even do short road trips out of town...

Now not only are road trips possible in an EV, but with good planning they can be similar to the experience (short stops for bathroom or food) of a gas car.

a cartoon character from south park is sitting at a table ALT: a cartoon character from south park is sitting at a table

Same energy

Minnesota educators fight for a way to lower skyrocketing health insurance costs As health insurance premiums continue to rise, Minnesota school districts – especially small, rural ones – struggle to find good, affordable health care coverage for their staff. Minnesota educators a...

"When Brianna Lawrence and her husband Devon found out they were expecting their first child...Their premium for the new family coverage plan could nearly quadruple to $2,200 a month"

BuT wHy ArEn'T mOrE pEoPlE hAvInG kIdS?

www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Man, I wish that this bike infrastructure had been there when I was a student!

Endorsed

Happy Earth Day

Duh, no. It’s a wind instrument.

Friends Of Desoto Star Trek GIF ALT: Friends Of Desoto Star Trek GIF

Heeeeeeeeeeey!

NPR talking about cancer rates in Iowa and mental health.

Partner texts me: "no mention of the cause of elevated cancer rates in Iowa?"

Me: "yeah..."

Narrator: "Remember folks, excessive fertilizer and pesticide use along with lax regulation is why Iowa has elevated cancer rates."

COVID vaccines tied to less hospital care, long COVID, and economic burden

The study certainly appears to add to evidence that ‘COVID vaccination can play a role in reducing disease burden and associated costs, and it highlights the value of increasing vaccination.’
Credit link: @cidrap.bsky.social

www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cov...

This is absolutely infuriating.

They had to do a rush on the title so that the could print the paper in Iowa...

Average new UK electric car price is now lower than petrol vehicles Autotrader says average EV cost is £785 cheaper, in an important milestone in the move away from fossil fuels

Forget "total cost of ownership." In the UK, the average EV is now cheaper than the average ICE vehicle, up front. Sticker cost.

And of course the savings just keep accumulating after that.

Bonus skeet, the thing that really gets me about nitrate pollution (and pollution in general) is that private companies (and "Family farms") make the profit while polluting the environment and water, but the public and individuals are left paying to clean up the pollution. This is 🐂💩

The "We all want clean water." line gets used A LOT when ag. groups come out against more regulations, because they already do SO MUCH for water conservation...

But if we all truly wanted clean water, we would have clean water.

Without meaningful regulations, we will not have clean water

4/4

[MN] Ag groups disagree with the push for stronger rules.

“Minnesota has some of the strictest water protection rules in the country,” the [MN Corn Growers Association] wrote in a news release. “Farmer organizations and individual farmers share the goal with the public of protecting our water.”
3/4

The same article also discusses nitrate pollution in SE Minnesota groundwater noting that more needs to be done (i.e., regulations) in order to improve groundwater quality.

Unsurprisingly, Big Ag. is not happy about the idea of more regulations on "the original conservationists"

2/4

Nitrate is quietly polluting rural drinking wells. How researchers are working to help Across the central U.S., nitrate from crop fertilizer and livestock facilities is seeping into water underground. Many family wells are no longer safe to drink from without pricey treatment.

Nice story featuring work done by @microbialmatt.bsky.social and his group!

The story talks about how nitrate pollution has resulted in many wells being above 10 ppm (drinking water limit) and within a few years many more wells will be above that limit.

www.kcur.org/environment-...

TFW you look out the window and see the Earth disappear
🎥 Astronaut Reid Wiseman
📍 Artemis II from the far side of the Moon

Those bombs aren't going to drop themselves /s

South Dakotan tells Congress of ‘growing water security risk’ if pipeline project is delayed • South Dakota Searchlight The leader of a proposed water pipeline project told a U.S. House panel that delaying the next federal step toward bringing Missouri River water to western South Dakota poses a “growing water security...

The pending western South Dakota and Missouri River water crisis does not get the attention the Colorado River Basin does, but this is a huge issue.

There are few good groundwater resources in South Dakota, so piping the water in is the only option.

southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/south...

It actually got within about 3-5 miles, but the above skeet was from the Rochester International Airport.

Small hail stones in the grass

More small hail, with a dirty black shoe for scale.

Small hail at the St. Paul DNR office.

I thought they were playing Newcastle, not Brighton

This was about 10 miles from my parent's house.

Small hail for a few seconds in downtown St. Paul.