FRACKING: The Illinois House approves a bill to regulate fracking, Gov. Pat Quinn says he wants the Senate to pass the bill “as soon as possible.” (Chicago Tribune)

ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla Motors announces a major expansion of its charging station network, with much of the Midwest to be covered by the end of this year. (GigaOM)

EFFICIENCY: How a grassroots community effort helped a small Iowa town achieve dramatic gains in energy efficiency. (Midwest Energy News)

MICHIGAN: In an interview with the Associated Press, Gov. Rick Snyder says he wants to increase the amount of renewable energy produced in the state. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: In Chicago, President Obama tells donors “I don’t have much patience for people who deny climate change.” (The Hill)

TRANSMISSION: Minnesota’s Supreme Court rules landowners are entitled to relocation costs if they opt to have their property bought out when a transmission line encroaches upon it. (St. Cloud Times)

WIND: A Minnesota utility doubles its renewable energy capacity with the dedication of a North Dakota wind farm, and Xcel Energy plans to get 30 percent of its electricity in Colorado from wind. (Dickinson Press, Denver Post)

NATURAL GAS: North Dakota’s governor supports a plan for a new $650 million pipeline to transport waste natural gas from the Oil Patch to a terminal in Minnesota. (Bismarck Tribune)

OIL: Heavy spring rains complicate ongoing cleanup of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill. (InsideClimate News)

POLLUTION: The oil industry opposes new smog standards that are projected to save thousands of lives per year. (The Hill)

BIOENERGY: A Wisconsin-based health care organization breaks ground on a $14 million manure biodigester that will help the company achieve a portion of its energy independence goal. (LaCrosse Tribune)

COMMENTARY: Why Master Limited Partnerships are bad policy for renewable energy, and have utilities declared war on net metering? (Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Forbes)