Walker Orenstein

2 weeks ago | gmtoday.com | Walker Orenstein |Allison Kite |Ryan Faircloth

Minnesota lawmakers finished work on the $66 billion state budget early Tuesday morning, averting a shutdown and capping off a year of political turmoil in a Legislature that is almost evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. The Legislature gaveled into a special session on Monday morning, and by evening the House had finished passing all of the 14 bills that will fund state government.

3 weeks ago | winonadailynews.com | Walker Orenstein

CLEAR LAKE, MINN. – Sheep clambered out of a trailer, rushed down a ramp and spilled into a field of knee-high grass covered by rows of solar panels. Some leaped as they exited, joining the chorus of bleats and laughter from the humans watching. The animals deployed Thursday morning are Xcel Energy’s newest and perhaps most adorable workers, carrying out the important task of keeping plants away from solar panels.

4 weeks ago | mankatofreepress.com | Walker Orenstein

CLEAR LAKE, MINN. — Sheep clambered out of a trailer, rushed down a ramp and spilled into a field of knee-high grass covered by rows of solar panels. Some leaped as they exited, joining the chorus of bleats and laughter from the humans watching. The animals deployed Thursday morning are Xcel Energy’s newest and perhaps most adorable workers, carrying out the important task of keeping plants away from solar panels.

4 weeks ago | startribune.com | Walker Orenstein

CLEAR LAKE, MINN. - Sheep clambered out of a trailer, rushed down a ramp and spilled into a field of knee-high grass covered by rows of solar panels. Some leaped as they exited, joining the chorus of bleats and laughter from the humans watching. The animals deployed Thursday morning are Xcel Energy's and newest and perhaps most adorable workers, carrying out the important task of keeping plants away from solar panels.

1 month ago | gmtoday.com | Walker Orenstein

Gov. Tim Walz has gloated publicly about Tesla’s business troubles in his political spat with Elon Musk, once even saying he got “a little boost” from the company’s falling stock price. No automaker, however, has been more important for Walz’s goal to convince Minnesotans to buy electric vehicles. Though still modest, the EV market that has emerged in Minnesota since Walz was first elected governor in 2018 is largely thanks to Musk’s company.