OIL TRAINS: Trains hauling crude oil are hidden in plain sight in Chicago neighborhoods as nearby residents are often unaware of the threat they could pose. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Milwaukee residents raise concerns about oil trains with city officials. (WISN)

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CLIMATE: Employees of a Wisconsin land trust agency are forbidden from “engaging in global warming or climate change work.” (Bloomberg)

EPA:
• Wisconsin joins a federal lawsuit challenging EPA carbon rules, and Kansas signs on to a letter urging the agency to withdraw the proposal. (Associated Press, Topeka Capital Journal)
• The Clean Power Plan could lead to multi-state approaches to cutting emissions. (Climate Central)

OHIO: How a shift at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio could impact FirstEnergy’s impending “bailout” case. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

MICHIGAN:
• Utilities warn of a crisis from capacity shortfalls in Michigan, some state lawmakers are skeptical (more background here). (MLive, Midwest Energy News archive)
• The state’s energy policy is the topic of a town hall meeting in Kalamazoo. (WMUK)

COAL:
• Michael Bloomberg donates $30 million to anti-coal efforts. (InsideClimate News)
• Michigan State University announces it will stop burning coal at its power plant by the end of the next year. (Lansing State Journal)
• A Minnesota power plant accepts its last coal shipment. (Minnesota Public Radio)

OIL AND GAS:
• At least six new natural gas power plants are being built or are in the works in Ohio. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• New research correlates drilling activity with elevated levels of radon. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Federal regulators say a North Dakota oil worker’s death was preventable. (Associated Press)

WIND: A Minnesota wind developer asks legislators to extend the deadline for leases to expire on a project. (Minnesota Watchdog)

BIOFUELS:
• Ohio’s transportation budget removes a biofuel requirement for state vehicles. (WYSO)
• An Iowa State researcher warns of impacts from removing too much corn stover for cellulosic biofuel production. (Biofuels Digest)

COMMENTARY: Why a Minnesota energy bill is a giveaway for utilities. (Minnpost)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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