Tired of all of the rainstorms yet? This year has been a historically wet and flood-prone year, impacting cities, towns and farms across the Midwest. In this news roundup, find out what's happening and why it matters. >>
Water and Legislative Updates Blog
FMR is proud to be a leading voice to protect the water of our Big River, and all the people and wildlife who depend on it.
Our Water Blog strives to keep you up to date on important water-quality issues, from the banks of the Mississippi to the halls of the Legislature. (For political animals, here's a legislative-content-only version.)
Blog updates are also shared on social (Facebook and Twitter) and in FMR's Mississippi Messages newsletter.
Join us! Sign up to be a River Guardian to receive email action alerts when we need your help the most, plus invitations to educational happy hours and other events.
June 10, 2019
As reported by the Star Tribune, new limits on farm fertilizer will benefit human health and wildlife. It's a huge step for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, but is the state doing enough to protect our drinking water and the Mississippi River? >>
May 29, 2019
The 2019 Legislative Session kicked on in January with Governor Walz presiding over the only divided state legislature in the nation.
This led to some core disagreements, missed deadlines and an assorted bag of victories and compromises for Minnesota's environment and the Mississippi River.
Here’s a brief summary of the major items we were tracking, and how each turned out. >>
May 29, 2019
Overall, the legislative session resulted in modest additional funding for some of our top priorities while many of the worst provisions were dropped. Along with our allies, we are deeply grateful to the FMR River Guardians who consistently demonstrated their strong support for the river and healthy lands and waters for all Minnesota communities. Learn more about which FMR priorities made it, which did not, and where we go from here. >>
May 24, 2019
The bipartisan Omnibus Legacy Bill was passed during the Special Session and includes $261.26 million for the Clean Water Fund. Here’s what was included in the final version. >>
May 21, 2019
With our Legislature's adjournment date passed and no final agreements on most policy and budget issues, a special session will be required. And most major water and conservation issues are yet to be decided. Here are our positions on some of the major issues still in play. >>
May 14, 2019
Today, FMR, along with twenty-three other organizations, signed a letter requesting legislators provide full funding for eh University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative in the final Clean Water Fund negotiations.
May 14, 2019
As the May 20th session deadline looms, successful negotiations on a final budget and policy compromise appear less likely. >>
May 9, 2019
With less than two weeks to go, legislators are meeting to craft a final environment budget & policy bill. Please act today to tell your legislators: “No cuts, rollbacks and raids in the omnibus environment bill!” >>
May 9, 2019
Legislative negotiators from the House and Senate face a number of policy and budget decisions with major implications for the health of our lands and waters as they craft a compromise environment budget and policy bill. >>