12,000 acres near Lake Superior just became public land

The Nature Conservancy is turning a swath of northeastern Minnesota forest into public land. The purchase includes “forest, rivers and wetlands between Two Harbors and Ely in northeast Minnesota that the conservation organization plans to restore and make accessible to the public,” MPR News reports. It will also connect “a mosaic of more than 40,000 acres of nearby public land.” The identity of the land’s previous owner has not been disclosed — only that it is a private, non-local LLC. What would it take to get more people out of their cars and onto public transit and bike routes in the Twin Cities? Move Minnesota, a transportation nonprofit, is working on it with a new informational campaign, Sahan Journal reports. Overwhelmingly, they say the biggest factor upholding car domination in the metro is “convenience,” but that doesn’t mean people aren’t curious about ditching automobiles — “[o]ne-fifth of all Minnesotans surveyed by the group said they’d prefer not to drive for transportation.” Four Minnesota breweries scored big kudos at the Great American Beer Festival earlier this month “where industry experts gather to judge thousands of beers and ciders from all over the country,” the St. Cloud Times reports. Big Lake’s Lupulin Brewing, St. Paul’s BlackStack Brewing and Minneapolis-based Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub and Pryes Brewing were among the winners. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has identified up to 276 DWI cases that may have been impacted by breathalyzer errors. The investigation has “led to the state temporarily suspending its breathalyzer tests,” Fox 9 reports. Two new zebras have “debuted” at St. Paul’s Como Zoo, CBS News reports. “Khomas, a 7-year-old male and his 1-year-old son Keanu have joined the zebra yard. The pair came from Franklin Park Zoo in Boston.” Introductions with Como’s resident zebra, Ulysses, who is 25-years-young, have gone smoothly. “[T]he zebras were eating and rolling around, which are signs that they are comfortable and relaxed.” The post 12,000 acres near Lake Superior just became public land appeared first on MinnPost.