OIL TRAINS:
• Crude oil that caught fire after a derailment in North Dakota had been treated to make it less volatile. (Associated Press)
• New federal safety rules may make it harder for the public to know about shipments moving through their cities. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

OHIO: The state inspector general clears the Kasich administration in a dispute over the dismissal of a state EPA employee who opposed coal-mining permits. (Columbus Dispatch)

***SPONSORED LINK: EPA’s section 111(D) is driving generation and transmission in MISO. Infocast’s MISO Market Summit 2015 will bring policy-makers together with utility, IPP and DR executives to explore the opportunities to solve reliability and power market problems.***

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Even after meeting its own needs, Iowa will have enough wind capacity to help neighboring states meet carbon reduction targets, according to a recent report. (Midwest Energy News)
• Midwest states are seeking to establish an emissions trading platform to meet carbon goals. (Reuters)
• Sen. Mitch McConnell’s assertion that states can’t collaborate on the Clean Power Plan is contradicted by a Bush-era precedent. (Greenwire)

SOLAR: Illinois solar producers say they’re up against utilities with “much bigger pockets” as the legislature debates energy policy. (Northwest Herald)

FRACKING: A journal issues a correction on a study that downplayed pollution concerns about fracking after failing to disclose the lead author was paid by Chesapeake Energy. (InsideClimate News)

MICHIGAN:
• The director of the University of Michigan’s Energy Institute says political debates in Lansing rarely consider the full benefits of renewable energy. (Midwest Energy News)
• Advocates say some legislative proposals would be “a true climate disaster.” (Great Lakes Echo)

UTILITIES: Ameren’s new CEO discusses the industry’s uncertainty. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

COAL: At least 85 workers are laid off from an Illinois coal mine. (Carbondale Southern Illinoisan)

OIL AND GAS:
• Investors are urged to avoid Alberta’s oil sands after a provincial election tips the balance of power. (Bloomberg)
• Ohio investigators say they have “no specific timeline” for investigating a spill of 2,000 gallons of waste from an injection facility. (Youngstown Vindicator)

ETHANOL: A study finds ethanol refineries may be producing more pollution than previously thought. (Yale E360)

ELECTRIC CARS: GM says “the future is electric,” but expects to fall short of its goal of 500,000 EV sales by 2017. (MLive, Detroit News)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the nation’s most successful women leaders in energy as they share their industry knowledge, strategies and experiences at the Leadership Conference for Women in Energy, June 2-3 in Indianapolis.***

EFFICIENCY: University of Minnesota students win a national competition to design a house that produces more energy than it consumes. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

COMMENTARY: Conservative clean-energy activist Debbie Dooley recaps a recent visit to Minnesota. (Midwest Energy News)

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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