PIPELINES: A Minnesota judge’s decision this week is expected to resolve some of the issues surrounding a controversial Bakken pipeline plan. (EnergyWire)

ALSO: A consultant recommends a Wisconsin county require $25 million in insurance for a proposed Enbridge oil sands pipeline expansion. (Wisconsin State Journal)

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FRACKING: Michigan drilling opponents will try again to get a statewide fracking ban on the ballot. (Detroit News)

BAKKEN:
• North Dakota may increase the limits for radioactive oil field waste that will be allowed in landfills. (Midwest Energy News)
• BNSF Railway says federal law may shield it from a lawsuit filed by the engineer in a 2013 oil train explosion. (Forum News Service)

UTILITIES: Opponents increase pressure on Wisconsin regulators as they near a decision on Wisconsin Energy’s proposed merger with Integrys Energy Systems. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

ETHANOL:
• Iowa’s Supreme Court rejects an ethanol industry challenge to the state’s system for taxing natural gas. (Associated Press)
• The EPA settles a lawsuit with the oil industry and will set ethanol mandates for this year and last year by Nov. 30. (The Hill)

COAL:
• The end of coal-burning at a Minnesota power plant reflects the broader transition toward cleaner energy. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A coal barge sank in the Ohio river over the weekend. (WOWK)

NUCLEAR:
• A Gallup poll finds 51 percent of Americans still support nuclear power, but the percentage has been declining in recent years. (Greentech Media)
• A Michigan congressman will push for a resolution opposing a Canadian nuclear waste storage facility on Lake Huron. (Associated Press)

MICHIGAN: Graduate students from the University of Michigan will present their findings this week on a small town’s effort to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewables. (Traverse City Record-Eagle, Midwest Energy News archive)

POLITICS: Advocates launch an advertising campaign targeting Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. (Toledo Blade)

EFFICIENCY:
• Passive solar heaters help a Minnesota tribe save thousands on energy costs. (Bemidji Pioneer)
• Students at a Wisconsin college build a passive house, but construction costs soar above initial estimates. (La Crosse Tribune)

COMMENTARY: “Sometimes Ohio energy policy contains so many imperfections and inconsistencies that it seems to be almost a miracle when anyone in a position of institutional leadership and authority makes sense of it.” (Crain’s Cleveland Business)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. 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 worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. 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. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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