CLEAN ENERGY:
• Midwest clean energy jobs declined by roughly 9% last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, though clean transportation jobs actually grew in some states compared to 2019, according to a new report. (Energy News Network)
• Iowa saw a 9.7% drop, or about 3,100 jobs, in clean energy and clean transportation jobs. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

CLIMATE:
• Local officials in St. Paul, Minnesota say eliminating minimum parking requirements for new construction can be part of the city’s climate change strategy. (Star Tribune)
• The region that includes North Dakota and Minnesota is expected to see shorter winters, hotter summers, increased flooding and more frequent droughts, according to the latest IPCC climate change report. (Inforum)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ohio electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors makes a “critical, strategic pivot” and is in talks to build vehicles for other automakers or lease space in its northern Ohio factory. (Reuters)
• Lordstown Motors’ early rise and now uncertain future captures the local skepticism about long-term promises of clean transportation jobs. (Time)
• Minnesota could receive $68 million to build electric vehicle charging stations across the state under the Senate-passed infrastructure bill. (MinnPost)

OHIO: Gov. Mike DeWine won’t say whether he regrets appointing a former regulator to lead the state’s Public Utilities Commission after the former lobbyist allegedly played a role in an ongoing bribery scandal involving FirstEnergy power plants. (Ohio Capital Journal)

CARBON CAPTURE: North Dakota could see hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for carbon capture and storage projects under the federal infrastructure bill that received Senate approval this week. (Inforum)

NUCLEAR: A coalition of residents and local officials in northern Illinois is making one last push to convince lawmakers to pass energy reforms that would save two struggling Exelon nuclear plants. (Rockford Register Star)

WIND:
• Construction is underway on a 77-turbine wind project in eastern Michigan. (Catalyst)
• Plans for a 71-turbine, 200 MW wind project are dividing residents in central South Dakota over aesthetics and potential revenue. (KELO)

GRID: Xcel Energy relies primarily on nuclear and coal-fired power to distribute electricity to customers in the Twin Cities area less than a decade before it plans to retire its remaining coal units. (Star Tribune)

BIOGAS: South Dakota-based Black Hills Corp. sees renewable natural gas as a sustainable driver for continued earnings and customer growth, company executives say. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

ADVOCACY: Environmental activists in southern Illinois and Missouri increasingly join forces to challenge polluters on issues involving fossil fuels and environmental justice. (St. Louis Public Radio)

OIL & GAS: U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota introduces a budget amendment that would prohibit the Biden administration from releasing rules or guidance to ban hydraulic fracturing. (Minot Daily News)