PIPELINES: LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard, a Standing Rock Sioux historian and “matriarch” of the tribe’s fight against the Dakota Access pipeline, dies from brain cancer. (Native News Online, InForum)

ALSO:
• Critics say Enbridge’s use of a video featuring a traditional Ojibwe pipe ceremony was an unseemly attempt to suggest broad support from the Native community for the Line 3 pipeline. (Indian Country Today)
• The Dakota Access pipeline’s developer asks a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision to pull a key permit for the project. (Bloomberg Law)
• The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline continues to pursue land rights, including through eminent domain, despite President Biden’s executive order rescinding its permit to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. (NET News) 

***SPONSORED LINK: Join Renew Missouri for its webinar “The Deep Freeze: SPP, Texas, and What to Do (and Not Do) in the Future” with Kevin Gunn of Paladin Energy on April 26th at 1:30pm. Only $75 with an hour of Missouri CLE credit. (KS pending. Others by request.) Sign up today! ***

NATURAL GAS: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs a bill banning cities and counties from regulating the sale of natural gas, while Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly allows a similar bill to become law in that state. (Iowa Capital Dispatch, Topeka Capital-Journal)

WIND: Researchers say vibrations from a planned wind farm in southern Illinois are likely to interfere with a burrowing frog species’ ability to detect and eat prey underground. (Earth Island Journal)  

SOLAR:
• A solar farm installed next to an Indiana county jail is expected to lower energy costs and improve comfort for inmates and staff. (Inside Indiana Business)
• A Michigan township plans to move its May meeting outdoors, anticipating high interest in a solar company’s land-use permit application. (Daily Telegram)
An educational event at an Indiana elementary school will give the public a chance to learn about its decision to install two solar arrays in 2019. (WFYI)

UTILITIES:
• A utility shutoff moratorium in Wisconsin is set to expire Thursday with more than 90,000 customers facing disconnection this month. (Spectrum News)
• Minnesota regulators will host virtual public hearings today and tomorrow for Otter Tail Power’s proposed rate increase. (Bemidji Pioneer)

CLIMATE:
• At a University of Iowa forum introducing a finalist for the school’s president, students stress the importance of climate goals and transitioning from coal. (KWWL)
• Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush calls for urgent racial and climate justice at a university forum: “Failing to act urgently is unreasonable.” (Student Life)
• A panel of Wisconsin medical professionals discuss how climate change is affecting public health, including asthma and pre-term birth rates. (WXPR)

BUILDINGS:
A geothermal heating and cooling system at Michigan’s state Capitol is mostly complete and should cut the building’s utility bill by 30%. (Lansing State Journal)
• A suburban Madison home is the city’s first LEED platinum home, featuring solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling. (Herald-Independent)

BIOFUELS: A Missouri bill to require all diesel to be blended with soybean oil is pitting farmers and agriculture groups against truckers and retailers. (Post-Dispatch) 

***SPONSORED LINK: The Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition via Fresh Energy is hiring for a Manager of Building Policy and Technology contractor to play a lead role in developing strategy and resources in support of local, state, and regional advocates. Learn more.***

OIL & GAS: Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to speak at a three-day oil conference next month in North Dakota. (InForum)

COMMENTARY: The president and CEO of the Missouri Bankers Association says state lawmakers must pass a bill to provide better consumer protection against deceptive residential property assessed clean energy lenders. (Missouri Times)

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.